The Power of XION
by batmethos
Summary: When the Halloween spell ends Xander finds himself still in full possession of Ion's powers, but he soon finds out that being nigh-omnipotent and having god like power's isn't all that great, especially when grief comes calling.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

TITLE: The Power of XION  
AUTHOR: Methos if ya want to host it somewhere else just tell me where ya putting it ok? ;)  
DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Green Lantern, ION, Batgirl and any other mentions of DC characters belong to DC Comics ok? I own nothing ;)  
SUMMARY: On Halloween Ethan's little costume stunt may have changed the future more that he know. and created something completely new in this dimension.  
FEEDBACK: love it :) my first fanfic and so many reviews already :) more please lol  
RELATIONSHIPS: None as yes, copious amounts of flirting yes but no relationships planned.  
RATING: FR18  
SPOILERS: Anything from the Halloween episode onwards. I plan on taking the story through to the bitter end of Buffy. Changing a few things along the way of course ;)

AN: well first fic.  
Kinda a plot bunny that's been going rampant in my head for a while and I finally decided to put it up.  
Only the first chapter for now, I'll see how it goes and add to it when and if I can.  
At the moment it's just a Buffy / Green Lantern crossover but there will be more. For those of you out there who know the character ION and you know what he was capable of.  
Crossover's bound heh :)

Well enjoy :)

* * *

"Ahh, good afternoon young sir.," Ethan said as he approached the new customer to his shop.

Twirling round to face the voice, Xander found himself looking at a middle aged man with short brown hair. "Uh yeah, hi." Xander stuttered back, "We've just been told that for Halloween we've got to take out a load of children so I'm looking for a costume. Something quick, nothing fancy as I'm kinda strapped for cash."

Unfortunately for him the toy gun that he had been planning on using had been broken the night before. During a fight between his parents when his dad, in a drunken rage as usual was picking up anything, and everything in his reach to throw at his mom, Xander's toy gun had been one of the unlucky few objects that had hit the wall before breaking into so many unusable pieces.

"Well I don't know if I've got anything left as you can see," waving his arm around the pretty empty store for effect, "Most of the good costumes have sold out. I did have a Dracula one left and a few costumes from some Japanese shows left over, but they've gone now too."

Seeing his customer's dismayed expression, adding to that that Ethan wanted as much carnage as possible tonight to fuel the God Janus, Ethan suddenly hit upon an idea.

"Look I've just got a shipment in this morning from a bankrupt movie studio, couldn't tell ya what I've got in there as I haven't been able to go through it. Honestly I was planning on sealing it back up and returning it tonight, but since you're here I'll let you have whatever ya want from the case for... what ya say twenty dollars?"

Xander jumped at this. Some official movie costumes. "It's a deal," he exclaimed, fumbling in his back pocket to get his wallet out.

"Don't be hasty young man," Ethan smiled down at the obvious eagerness of the boy, turning on his heels, "I'll just go and get the box and we can look through it together ok? Feel free to look around the store, if you find anything that you think would be suitable I'm sure we can come to some arrangement here and find a suitable price for whatever costume you pick."

With this said Xander watched the man wander off through some curtains. He could have sworn he heard the man mutter something like 'bloody hell, where's that soddin' box now.' before disappearing. Laughing quietly Xander started to look though the costumes that were left on display. There were only a few left as Xander started leafing through the racks.

"Major Motoko Kusa... Kusi... Meh if can't even say the name how am I going to dress up like the character?" Taking) a closer look at the costume Xander quickly noted that he was looking at the women's costume rack and fled over to a rack where he saw an army like costume.

Feeling it was a safe bet he was in the men's section now he started looking through them when one caught his eye. It was a character from a short-lived show called 'Crusade', he remembered watching it with Willow some nights. The character was a Technomage, or something like that. He used advanced technology to replicate the illusion of magic. Remembering the character Galen, or Galem also shaved his head regularly, this put Xander off. Deciding to wait until the shop owner returned with the box of movie props, Xander wandered over to the counter and leaned against it waiting.

He didn't have to wait long after a couple of choice swear words came out from behind the curtain then a loud thump.

"You ok it there?" Xander shouted through, "Need a hand with anything?"

The curtains parted showing the man holding a large brown box in his hands struggling to get through the doorframe. Xander quickly moved around the counter and helped him through.

"Thank you, it was a lot heavier than it looked, heh that or I'm getting old finally." Laughing it off Ethan put the box down and got a pair of scissors out of the drawer. Opening the box quickly he turned to Xander, "So find anything left in the shop you like?"

"Nah, not much left that I recognize, there's a cool Alucard costume over there from the Hellsing Cartoon, but its way too big for me. So looks like my last hopes are in this box."

"Well, let's not keep you waiting then."

Opening the box Ethan moved aside letting Xander have a closer look inside the box and the array of costumes that were inside. Some he recognized. He immediately caught sight of a blue one with a big red and yellow 'S' on the front, picking it up however Xander found it to be a short top, obviously female with a yellow belt clipped to it and a blue miniskirt complete with red boots as well.

Ethan retrieved the costume from Xander and hooked it over a railing, maybe someone else would come in later in the day for that. "Hmm, obviously they were planning to do another Supergirl movie, forgive me for saying but I don't think anyone would be able to beat Helen Slater in that role, she was the epitome of feminine beauty in that costume."

Xander nodded his head in agreement, having picked that film up on DVD a few months back he remembered a few of his fantasies regarding the actress. "Yeah she was a knockout then, don't think I've seen her in much else though."  
Ethan seeing a kindred spirit here let his masque slip a little, "Yeah mate, truly a beauty. She kind of left off acting after a few more movies, nothing good but she has released a couple of albums recently. Nothing chart topping but quite pleasant to listen to."

At this point the door opened and a few younger girls walked in, obviously just from school.

"Well if you'll excuse me I have other customers to see, please go though the box and I'll return shortly." With this Ethan made his way over to the customers and left Xander going through the box.  
Picking each costume out and carefully hanging it up to inspect them Xander came across one he didn't recognize. This was rare, being a certified comic geek he had been able to name all of the costumes that had come out of the box, Supergirl, Powergirl, Martian Manhunter, Robin, Midnighter, Jack Hawksmoor, there was even a Barbara Gordon style Batgirl costume in here which he had picked up with care and placed as far away from the 'Joker' costume as he could.

Remembering the story "A laughing joke" from his collection and the nightmares he had had for months after reading it gave him a certain respect for the Batgirl character.

Turning his attention back to the costume he had picked up. It was leather. Not tacky leather but the good quality stuff. A high neck collar. With buckles round it.

The costume looked like it would be tight fitting, mostly black and deep green, with a bright green, almost white circle on the front chest of it. Looking down he looked for a tag. Finding it he read the name out loud, "ION."

"Yes I remember hearing about this," Xander snapped his head around to see Ethan quietly standing behind him looking casually at the array of costumes he had set out. "Apparently they were going to do a Green Lantern movie, if I remember correctly, they were going to have David Boreanaz playing Kyle Rayner and Bruce Boxleitner playing Hal Jordan. This was one of the costumes that the character evolved into. Do you know much about Green Lantern comics?"

Xander quickly thought back, yeah he remembered Green Lantern; he was the dude that went psycho after the Death of Superman series and ended up killing pretty much everyone he crossed.

This wasn't his suit though.

In addition, that guy had a ring. Yeah that was right. The Green Lantern was the ring. It could do anything you wanted, as long as you have the imagination and the willpower to back it up of course.

Seeing his thoughtful look, Ethan continued, "Well there was a Green Lantern called Hal Jordan in the comics. After some momentous catastrophe, he went insane. Anyway, he killed off all the other Green Lanterns and collected their rings, and he then went after his masters. Beings called the Guardians of the universe.  
After killing these off and absorbing their power Hal became a sort of living energy being. No one could stand up to him. I can't remember how he died, or if he even did but the power was left, presumed destroyed in the heart of the sun for some reason.  
Now there was another Green Lantern, this one called Kyle Rayner. He was a good guy, a kid sure, he must have been about eighteen, maybe twenty. He was given the last of the Green Lantern rings. Anyway to cut a long story short this kid, Kyle found the power that had been left and joined with it. It made him different. He wasn't a Green Lantern anymore. He wasn't limited by space or time. He was a being of pure energy; anyway, that is where my knowledge of the comic ends. I gave up reading from that point." Looking around him he noticed that his little story had drawn over the girls from looking at the costumes and were all listening to him.

"Well it's nice to know youngsters today still enjoy a good tale. Now if any of you like the costumes that this young man has nicely put up on display for me, I will offer them at half price. That is aside for this one." With this he took the costume off Xander and led him over to the side.

"I must say I've enjoyed our chat, it was nice to see someone that remembers comics as fondly as I do, and remembers the characters. I saw how you respected the Batgirl costume, and the way you placed it far away from the Joker one. Here take the 'ION' costume, from looking at you it will fit almost perfectly. And I will get some satisfaction that someone is wearing the costume that appreciates it." Seeing Xander's confused look he started to walk away. "Please enjoy the costume, I know I will enjoy seeing someone in it who could live up to the character." Smirking Ethan wandered over to the young girls and started talking to them about something called Sailor Moon, and a set of costumes he had that would be perfect for the four of them.

Xander, still bemused at this turn of events, looked down at the costume in his hands. It did look like it would fit him, and the eye mask was there complete with adhesive glue to fix it in place, some green contact lenses that looked to be bright green, almost luminescent. Smiling to himself Xander was happy with the costume.

Walking out of the store, pocketing the loose items, rolling the costume up, and holding it under his arm, he had one last place to go. The Comic store. He and Jesse used to hang around it a lot.

The man that owned it was friendly and didn't mind people just hanging around inside, reading the comics or just chatting.

He started walking towards 'Comicville' with a few thoughts in mind. What the others would be wearing tonight. For some reason he couldn't get the image of Willow in the Batgirl outfit out of his mind, or Buffy in the Supergirl outfit, not that he was complaining. Nah they both had their costumes already probably. Buffy would be going as some sort of noble woman to impress Angel, and Willow would be going as her usual ghostly character.

As he entered the comic shop, he turned the owner and waved. Tony was a good guy and a guru when it came to comics. "Hi Tony, ya know anything about a character called 'ION'? Something from Green Lantern apparently."  
In response Tony just put down his book, 'Batman: No man's Land', it looked like a novel, not a trade or a comic. He wandered over to the shelves and after a minute of looking picked up a graphic novel off the shelves, walked over to Xander and handed it to him.

"The Power of ION," Xander read the title aloud. Looking on the back for the price $8.99. Remembering he still had the cash in his wallet that he saved from the costume shop Xander fished out his wallet and handed ten dollars over to Tony. Pocketing his change and receipt, Xander picked up his book and started on the way home. A bit of light reading before getting dressed and then over to Buffy's to pick up the girls before back to school for the children Xander thought. He might even have time for a few Twinkie snacks before heading out. With this, he grinned and started jogging lightly not wanting to drop the costume or his new book. He wanted it to be in good condition when he got home, and got to read into the mindset of the character before going out. After all no one wants to go out as a character, they know nothing about.

* * *

A few hours later Ethan was closing up his store. He had sold all of his costumes from the shop. After the young man had left he'd quickly put the other costumes from the box back into the back managing to get all but one of them back, some customer actually wanted to dress up as Supergirl for the night. Well hope she enjoyed what she got.

Looking over at the mess in the back room Ethan mentally swore. The jar containing the potion he had used to 'charm' the costumes had smashed when he was trying to get the box down. As it was, the potion was a violently strong one. After all bringing fictional characters to life needed a hell of a lot of magic, and the potion was supposed to strengthen Janus' hold on the costumes. There was only supposed to be one or two drops on each costume. The jar has smashed on the box, soaking the contents with the potion.

"Well never mind, what's the worst that can happen? It was only those two costumes. They'll just get a bigger dose of the magic than everyone else." Almost feeling bad about it for a second as he remembered the young man he had given the costume to. He forgot himself and laughed at the chaos of it all. Now to prepare for tonight. He had a feeling tonight was going to be even more chaotic that even he expected. He grinned at the prospect of it and started gathering the tools needed for tonight's ritual.

* * *

AN: Well that's the first chapter out of the way. If ya like please review.  
This is my first fanfic. after reading back through it I can't see any errors but I'm sure I've missed some somewhere so if ya spot any please let me know.  
Reviews would be nice but I'm going to continue updating with or without em so whatever ;)  
Hope you enjoyed my first jump in. please let me know what ya think :) 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

TITLE: The Power of XION  
AUTHOR: Methos if ya want to host it somewhere else just tell me where ya putting it ok? ;)  
DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Green Lantern, ION, Batgirl and any other mentions of DC characters belong to DC Comics ok? I own nothing ;)  
SUMMARY: On Halloween Ethan's little costume stunt may have changed the future more that he know. and created something completely new in this dimension.  
FEEDBACK: love it :) my first fanfic and so many reviews already :) more please lol  
RELATIONSHIPS: None as yes, copious amounts of flirting yes but no relationships planned.  
RATING: FR18  
SPOILERS: Anything from the Halloween episode onwards. I plan on taking the story through to the bitter end of Buffy. Changing a few things along the way of course ;)

* * *

Xander went around the back door of his house to get in and snuck downstairs to his basement bedroom.

He had been put in such a good mood after getting everything ready that he just wanted to avoid his parents and get tonight over with.

Maybe this costume thing might not be a total drag, he thought to himself. He had the children to take care of at eight but they had to be back at the high school to be picked up by their parents by half past nine so after that perhaps they could head to the Bronze.

He let his imagination wander for a bit, thinking about all the women who would be out tonight dressed up in costumes.

Being California, most of the costumes to women picked out would be skimpy to allow fun to be had while staying cool he thought. So a night at the Bronze surrounded by cute girls in skimpy fancy dress.

Grinning to himself at the thought, he hung his costume over the door to his wardrobe and flopped down on the bed with a box of Twinkies, and his new book.

Well he didn't have to be over at Buffy's for about two hours yet. That left plenty of time to catch up on the character he was dressing up as tonight and some Twinkie indulgence.

Opening the book to the first page Xander quickly got engrossed in the book. The story was pretty much as the costume guy had described it. The kid was a Green Lantern who came into possession of the power of all the guardians and then some. When he'd be told that, the character had become a godlike being there was no joke there.

This hero, The ION, had enough power in him to re-make the universe. He could create anything he wanted. He could step in and out of time on a whim. He could exist in multiple places at once. Was nigh on omnipotent. God, it was even said that he could take down Superman without even breaking a sweat.

Hearing another fight upstairs, Xander dropped the book halfway through. Grabbing the ION costume and stuffing a last Twinkie into his mouth, he put his jacket on and snuck back out the way he came.

Off to somewhere he could find a bit of peace and quiet he thought to himself. With that in mind, he started the walk over to Buffy's house.

"Xander, aren't you a bit early? Buffy's still out getting the last bits of her costume together," Joyce looked at Xander, reaching out with her hand and wiping a bit of cream off his lips. "And have you been practicing eating an entire Twinkie all at once again young man?"

Smiling at this Xander reached up and wiped his hand across his entire mouth making sure there was no residue cream left. "No Mrs. Summers, I just had to get out of the house. Mom and Dad were starting another fight so I came to see if I could relax with Buffy for a bit before heading to the school." Dropping his shoulders a bit he realized that Buffy wasn't here so he would have to go and find somewhere else to hide from his parents.

Seeing his almost dismayed look Joyce decided to take pity on the young man. "Well I've just finished making dinner, so you're welcome to join me for a bit if you want. I can't imagine Buffy is going to be that long."

With this said Xander's face lit up. Joyce thought that the young man had a truly wonderful smile. She couldn't believe it when Buffy had told her that he had asked her out and she had turned him down.

Under those baggy shirts and combats Xander had acquired quite a physique from being out patrolling with Buffy, and sparring with her and Giles he was no slouch in combat. However, he still thought himself as the goof of the group. Where as if he actually started to realize he was one of the best-looking guys in the school he might get a lot better reputation for it.

"I'd like that, thank you Mrs. Summers." Xander practically beamed to her.

"Well come in then. I've got homemade lasagna with some lemon meringue pie for dessert and we don't want them to get cold do we?" Xander flashed her one of his famous lop sided grins and followed her into the house.

It was well known that Mrs. Summers was one of the best cooks in Sunnydale. She always made him meals when he stayed around for movies or just hanging around with Buffy. He didn't think she knew about his home life but the fact that every time he was here she made something from scratch actually made him feel like he was part of a family.

The closest thing he ever got to that at home was getting the pizza takeaway menu thrown at him and being told to order something for his dad and he could have whatever was left. A proper home cooked meal was something he had never had before Mrs. Summers came to Sunnydale.

"Make yourself at home Xander. I'll just be a minute in the kitchen. Would you like something to drink?"

"I'll just have a coke please Mrs. Summers."

Joyce poked her head round the corner of the living room, "Now I've told you before about that. Please call me Joyce, calling me Mrs. Summers makes me feel way too old."

Laughing it off Joyce went back to the kitchen to fetch a drink for them both.

Smiling Xander laid his costume carefully over the sofa and sat down thinking about tonight.

"Well here you go Xander," passing him a coke she noticed the costume lying over the sofa, "I) that your costume for tonight? I thought you were going as a soldier, or a Jedi, or that character you keep talking about from the game..."

"Oh the master chief? Nah those costumes were far too expensive. I got this one free from the shop owner. He said something about having found a kindred spirit after we talked for a while. It had something split on it but it looks to be fine. No stains or anything so I'm good for tonight."

Joyce smiled at this. "Where did you end up getting yours from Xander? It looks pretty high quality." Tumbing) the leather she could tell it was hard wearing not cheap material.

"Yeah this new place called Ethan's you know it?"

Smiling Joyce nodded. "That's where Buffy went to get the last bits of her costume. I popped in there earlier. While you and the kids are out me, Mr. Giles, Mrs. Calendar and a few others are going to be having a get together here. We've all got costumes for it as well."

Putting on his trademark grin Xander turned to Mrs... Joyce. "Well Joyce, they did have a very nice Supergirl outfit there. You didn't perhaps pick that one up did you?"

Seeing Xander's grin Joyce decided to have a little fun with him. Waiting until he had taken a mouthful of his coke Joyce replied, "No sorry no Supergirl here. I did pick up this fabulous dominatrix outfit though."

As soon at the word 'dominatrix' had left her mouth the coke left Xander's, spraying over the table in front of them and the carpet behind. Joyce seeing this laughed so hard she nearly fell of her seat. Looking over Xander was bright red and trying not to look at her wiping coke off his clothes.

Joyce stood up and went to fetch some kitchen roll to clean up with when she came back a very flustered Xander was stood up still wiping coke of his now drenched combats.

"Xander I'm sorry, no dominatrix sorry. I'm going to be dressing up as one of the doctors assistants from Doctor Who."

"Who?" Xander replied mockingly trying to get the coke out of his clothes.

"Exactly." Joyce grinned up at his finishing wiping the last of the coke off the carpet. Standing up she walked over to Xander and started wiping the coke off his combats.

"It's a British TV show that Mr. Giles has been watching. He was kind enough to lend me a few of his video tapes of the show."

Before she could get any further Xander let out a small yelp and sat back down again.

Joyce realizing what she had done suppressed a grin, she still had it. Smiling to herself she walked back into the kitchen to throw the paper towels in the bin.

"Xander," Joyce called out from the kitchen, "Your pants will be all sticky from the coke. Why don't you go upstairs and get changed into your costume? I'll put your pants into the wash and you can pick them up when you've finished trick or treating."

"Ok Mrs. Summers. . . I mean Joyce. I'll just be a second." With that he grabbed his costume and hurried upstairs to get changed.

Joyce sat in the kitchen and started to dish up dinner, quietly smiling to herself she poured herself a glass of wine and was quietly sat there enjoying it when there was a knock at the door.

"Buffy have you forgotten your keys again?" she shouted making her way round to the door

Opening the door expecting to find her wayward daughter Joyce was a little shocked to see Willow stood there.

"Willow sorry I was expecting Buffy home. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Oh, is Buffy not in Mrs. Summers?"

"No, but you're welcome to come in and wait for her. Xander is already upstairs getting his costume on. He had a little accident with some coke." Smiling at this Joyce opened the door further to allow Willow in.

"Xander! Willow's here," Joyce shouted up the stairs. "We were just about ready to sit down for dinner. Perhaps you'd like to join us?"

Smiling at Mrs. Summers Willow quickly agreed. She'd rushed home to finish her homework before coming straight to Buffy's. They were going to have a girly night in, getting ready for tonight so she hadn't had anything to eat yet.

"I'll be right down Joyce," came a voice from upstairs.

Joyce? Willow thought. Isn't that a bit familiar for Xander? Raising her eyebrow at the thought she looked into the kitchen where Joyce caught her eye.

Laughing Joyce put down the Lasagna. "No Willow, nothing like that. I insist everyone calls me that in my house. Calling me Mrs. Summers seems too formal and makes me feel too old."

With this Willow hung up her bag with her ghost costume in it and made her way into the kitchen to sit down ready for dinner.

"Xander, I'm dishing up now if you want some."

"Here's a tip Willow, the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach." As if to punctuate the comment there was a thundering down the stairs and Willow turned around to see Xander enter the kitchen.

Smiling Joyce looked over at Willows reaction. Dear lord she knew Willow was attracted to Xander but this was ridiculous. She was sat there, open mouthed just looking at him.

Joyce decided to turn round to see what the fuss was about.

Xander was stood there in the doorway. Striking the usual hero pose, which for some reason didn't look stupid on him anymore.

The uniform fit him like a second skin. Tight leather stretched over his entire body. The black buckle up boots were still undone, as were the buckles around his waist, chest and neck but the effect was still astounding.

"Wow, Xander that costume really does suit you," Joyce remarked finally.

"Willow, Willow, WILLOW! You alright there?" Xander wandered over and waved his gloved hand in front of her face.

Swatting his hand away Willow just smiled up at him going slightly red. "Sorry Xander, it's just that the last time I saw you in something that tight. You didn't have all those muscles," going even redder as she said it she turned around looking at Joyce for support.

"She's right Xander. You are looking good. You having trouble with those buckles?"

"Yeah thanks Joyce. The buckles are a bit weird. Haven't had anything with them on before." Xander chose to ignore the compliments he got from the two women. Inside he was beaming but he wanted to wait and see the reaction from Buffy when she got home.

"Well why don't we sit down and eat before the dinner gets cold and then I'll give you a hand with them," Joyce said walking over to behind Xander and guiding him to his seat. "Besides I've had plenty of practice with buckles before. Most of the best dominatrix outfits have loads of them on," she whispered in Xander's ear before seating him.

Seeing Xander had gone a bright shade of red which didn't at all look good with his black and green costume Willow decided to break the tension.

"What costume is that Xander? I don't recognize it from your comics."

"Nah, it's a new one from a movie they were going to make apparently. Never got off the ground so I managed to get it cheap from this shop in town. Ethan's? Well it's from a comic called Green Lantern so I didn't think you'd recognize it."

"Ethan's? That's where I got my costume from too. Nice English owner. Was very helpful finding me something to wear." Willow smiled waiting for the reaction.

"What? You mean you're not going as your ghostly self this year? Ohh do tell. What's your costume then?" Xander was practically off his seat waiting to hear what Willow was going to be. Normally she went as a ghost or something else quiet and unassuming.

"Well Buffy convinced me to try something else so I went around town looking for something that would be fun." Willow smiled. She was grinning inside, happy about the reaction she had got from Xander.

"Dinner's ready," Joyce called out, making her way over to the table with two plates of lasagna with salad on the side.

"Hmmm smells delicious Joyce." Xander started rubbing his hands together but stopped when he noticed the clinking the open buckles on his wrists were making.

Laughing Joyce put the meals down in front of the two teenagers before returning to dish up her own. Throwing a cloth at Xander she called, "Put that on your lap. I know how much of a messy eater you are Xander and we don't want you ruining your suit before you've been trick or treating."

Sitting down next to Xander she smiled as he did as he was told before starting his meal.

It wasn't long before the meal was finished and everyone was full from the pasta dish Joyce had made.

Xander grinned at Joyce, obviously sated. "Well that was delicious Joyce. Compliments to the chef."

Smiling back Joyce thanked him for the compliment and started to clear the plates away.

"So Willow, you never told us what your costume is tonight." Joyce smiled over at Willow who had been quiet as usual through the meal.

"No Mrs. Sum… Joyce. Me and Buffy wanted to keep it a secret to surprise Xander."

"Well ok then. I'll have to wait until Buffy is here for you two to get ready I suppose. Xander would you like help now with those buckles before dessert? You don't want them falling into your bowl while you're eating do you?"

"Excuse me I've just got to… you know… use the little girls room," Willow said before heading upstairs quickly.

I swear that girl needs to come out of shell a bit. Looking over at Xander it was obvious he thought the same.

"Now Xander why don't you sit here." She pointed to a high stool by the window. "And I'll get those buckles done up for you."

Smiling Xander walked over to the chair and sat down as Joyce knelt down and started to buckle up his boots.

"Wow, some of these are really tough aren't they?"

"Yeah. I was having trouble with them myself. That's why I left them open. I hoped Buffy could help me with them." Smiling Xander thought that Buffy's slayer strength should be able to get these done easily.

"Well from the look of things I think you might have done a better job of doing these that Buffy could have. She's not exactly She Ra you know?" she smiled at Xander. More likely he just wanted to have her daughter holding him close as she attempted the buckles.

Managing to get the boots on both legs done up Joyce moved on to the belt, which had been done up. But with the wrong buckle.

"You know you've got the wrong ones tightened up here don't you?"

Xander looked down to find he had done the buckles up the wrong way. Looping them over each other so they had formed a messy loop round his stomach.

"Well I'll get these undone first then we'll see about doing them right ok?" Trying to get a grip on them Joyce's fingers slid all over the leather and metal before she hit on an idea.

"Well I can't get these open with my fingers. You've done them too tight and made a right mess of them. Give me a second I'll just use my teeth to get these open quickly."

Before Xander could object Joyce had knelt down and maneuvered herself between his legs putting her face right into his stomach, using her fingers to feed the top part of the buckle into her mouth so she could pull it loose with her teeth.

It was at this point when the back door opened and Buffy walked in with several shopping bags. Seeing the position her mother and Xander were in Buffy dropped the bags and screeched "Mother!" at the top of her voice.

Xander froze.

Joyce turned around to see her daughter there with a look of horror on her face. It was only then that she realized how what she had been doing must have looked.

"Buffy, it's not what you think," Joyce started.

* * *

Heh I know just a short one but I had a few scenes in my head that I wanted to get done.  
Hope people are still enjoying this. As usual if ya spot any glaring errors let me know and I'll clean em up asap.  
As for the funny teasing between Joyce and Xander. I've always thought that Joyce was a underused character and want to get more out of her this story, besides the thought of a few of the characters in Buffy dressed in a dominatrix outfit ;)  
Don't think I could feasibly get Ms. Calender into one before the end do ya? Lol


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Chapter 3  
TITLE: The Power of XION  
AUTHOR: Methos if ya want to host it somewhere else just tell me where ya putting it ok? ;)  
DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Green lantern, ION, Batgirl and any other mentions of DC characters belong to DC Comics ok? i own nothing ;)  
SUMMARY: On Halloween Ethan's little costume stunt may have changed the future more that he know. and created something completely new in this dimension.  
FEEDBACK: love it :) my first fanfic and so many reviews already :) more please lol  
RELATIONSHIPS: None as yes, copious amounts of flirting yes but no relationships planned.  
RATING: FR18  
SPOILERS: Anything from the Halloween episode onwards. i plan on taking the story through to the bitter end of Buffy. Changing a few things along the way of course ;)

AUTHORS NOTES:

wow, what can i say. thank you all for your wonderful reviews. never did i expect anything like that :)  
but now on with the story :)

* * *

"Buffy it's not what you think." Joyce started standing up.

"Well, what am I supposed to think? I walk in and your there with your mouth... I don't even want to think about it." With this said Buffy picked up her bags and stormed off upstairs.

"I'd better go after her and explain Joyce." Xander stood up and started to make his way up the stairs towards Buffy's room

"Buffy, its cool. It's just me, Xander." Knocking again had no effect so Xander reached for the door handle and gently opened the door to see Buffy sat on her bed with anger still in her eyes.

"Xander get out of here."

"Look Buffy it's not what you think. Your mum was just helping me get some of these buckles done properly." to show her what he meant he grabbed the offending buckle on his stomach and tried pulling to no effect.

"See I can't get the damn things undone, your mum just thought that she could do it."

"With her teeth Xander? Please like you expect me to fall for that?"

"Look. Listen will you. For one. If you look there are actual teeth marks in the leather where she was trying to pull it away. two, this costume is proper reinforced leather, I can hardly feel a thing through it and three, It's your mom Buffy. Why would she be interested in someone like me?" With this said Xander flopped down on the bed next to Buffy.

"Look I know what it looked like, but it was just your mum being friendly and managing to get herself into an embarrassing situation. Nothing more. Would I dare try someone on with your mom anyway? You could beat me to a pulp and I can't even get these stupid buckles undone." Trying again he let out a weak laugh before looking at Buffy.

"Xander, I know it wasn't anything. It was just weird seeing you like that, with my mom. God after something like that I've got to go and bleach my mind or something." Finally smiling Buffy reached over and undid all of the buckles for Xander.

"Xander, you in Buffy's room?" opening the door, Willow walked in. "Oh Buffy, your home. Did you get all your costume bits?"

"Yeah, thanks Willow. I just had a bit of a shock coming in the house and finding my mother knelt down with her face in Xander's crotch."

"Buffy!" Xander groaned, letting himself fall back on the bed and hiding his now bright red face under a pillow.

"Xander? What? Your mother?" Willow fired off in quick succession.

"Breath Willow, breath. It's ok. She was just trying to get the buckles undone on his costume. Speaking of Xander, what costume is that anyway?"

Taking the pillow off his head and swinging his legs round so he could sit on the side of the bed Xander Started explaining his day.

"... then you walked in and, well I guess you know the story from there." Xander finished up his reap of the day's events pacing round the room.

"Well sounds like you've had quite the day then Xander. Me and Willow are going to get changed into our costumes now so why don't you go downstairs and wait for us there," walking over to Xander "oh and no funny business with my mother ok?" Buffy said grinning while slapping him lightly on the chest.

"Ok, ok, I give. Can you just help be with these buckles first please or I'll never get them done."

Smiling Buffy reached down and easily snapped all the buckles into place cause the leather on the outfit to stretch over Xander's body even more.

"Now get downstairs so we can get our costumes ready." leading Xander out the Door Buffy shut him out and locked the door behind him.

Oh well. Guess I might as well try and get the mask on and contact lenses in. Want to look the full part for tonight. Xander thought to himself as he walked down the stairs.

"Xander is Buffy still mad? look I didn't realize how it looked until she walked in, I'm sorry if she's mad at you for anything."

"Nah its ok Mrs. Sum... Joyce," Xander quickly corrected himself looking at the stern face she had on. "she was mad for a bit but I've explained it and she saw the funny side of it. Doesn't mean she isn't going to tease me about it for years to come though." He smiled and sat down on the couch next to Joyce.

"We've still got an hour or so until we've got to get to school. What's going to take them that long to get into their costumes?"

Joyce smiled. "You've never waited for a woman before have you Xander? There are outfits, Hair, Makeup, and Perfume, then chatting with each other and making sure they both look perfect for tonight. An hour seems a little optimistic. Try an hour and a half or two."

Hearing this Xander let his head thump back against the couch. Bloody hell. He thought to himself. It might be worth it though. Wonder what costumes they have? Maybe Buffy took him seriously and went for the Xena costume? Nah he thought. Buffy will have got something to impress angel. Probably something old fashioned. And not skin tight I regretfully add.

Smiling to himself about thoughts of Buffy dressed up as Xena or Super girl he let himself relax and Joyce turned on the TV and started watching Passions.

* * *

Upstairs.

"God Buffy, did you actually think your mom was doing... that to Xander?"

Leave it to Willow to not even be able to say the rude words, let about thinking of doing them. "Nah, I saw the opportunity to give them both a little teasing. Mom's always giving me a hard time about boys. Especially since she saw me and Angel together. She doesn't know we're doing anything yet but she still gives me a hard time talking about 'protection' and 'waiting until I'm ready.'" Buffy grinned hanging up her outfit on the wardrobe.

"Wait 'till angel see's me in this. I can't wait to see his reaction."

"Oh god Buffy it's beautiful. Where did you get it from?"

"From that new store Ethan's? Same place Xander got his from. I wanted to get something to show Angel that I can be just a prissy and stuck up as those girls we saw pictures of him with in the Watcher Journals." Smiling at the dress Buffy ran her hands over the crushed velvet skirt and the steel boned corset top.

"Might need a hand getting in it though. The Costume shop owner said it might be a bit restrictive once it's on and to make sure the clips round the back are done up properly before going out. So what did you get Willow?" Smiling at Willow expecting her to pull out the ghost outfit that she had been talking about.

"Well I took your advice and went over to that store Ethan's a couple of days ago. He helped me put this together." Willow bent over and started fishing things from her bag and laying them on the bed.

First came out a pair of Dark black pants. They looked like Lycra but a bit thicker. They were solid black as well. Not shiny black like parts of Xander's Costume. Where the light hit the fabric there was nothing. No shine or glitter. Just pure black.

A pair of boots came out next. Again pure black and plain. No patterns on laces. Just a simple zip on the inside of each boot. After that a bright yellow belt with compartments around it that looked like mini packages. The type you get on Christmas tree ornaments.

Then came out the clincher. A black top. Looks like it's made out of the same material as the bottoms Buffy thought to herself. The top had a black leather cape attached to it and black leather gloves were thrown on top of the top before Buffy had a chance to see the design on the chest properly.

The last piece Willow brought out was a mask. It looked more like a hood with only eye slits in it. The 'mask' was again the same material as the top and pants but it covered her whole head and face.

"I got the ideas from reading one of Xander's new comics." Willow explained. "He's always going on about Batgirl so I went to the comic store and bought one of the latest issues of Batgirl. If I dress like this then maybe he might finally notice me?" willow asked looking at Buffy for reassurance.

"I'm sure he'll notice you Willow. I mean look at this costume. How's anyone not going to notice you?" laughing Buffy picked up the mask and held it next to her face.

"Aside from that with this on, no one's going to be able to tell who you are unless you tell them."

"That's the idea Buffy. This way only you and Xander will know it's me under here," Taking the mask off Buffy and sitting down on the bed next to her costume. "I just wanted him to notice me for once instead of ... well you know just seeing plain old Willow."

Buffy sat down next to Willow and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sure once he see's you in that, nothing's going to be the same between you two. Ok?"

Smiling Buffy picked up the 'mask' "besides if you took the bat ears off this thing it looks like it's out of a bondage movie or something" Buffy grinned and swiftly avoided the pillow that was thrown at her.

Soon the two girls were lying to on bed worn out with pillow feathers everywhere.

"Are you two nearly ready?" Xander called up the stairs. "We've got to be at the school soon on Snyder will have us in detention for a month."

"He's right Buffy. You don't want to give Snyder anymore reasons to keep an eye on you." Standing up and taking her top off Willow started to undress and change into her costume.

Buffy took this start and started undressing herself. Taking the dress off the hanger she laid it on the bed. I can't wait to see Angels reaction when he sees me in this, smiling to herself Buffy started putting on the dress.

* * *

Across town.

Ethan came through the curtain's into the back room of his store and knelt Before his statue of Janus.

"The world that denies thee, thou inhabit." Smearing blood from his hand on his face he continued, ignore the rush of raw magic around him.

"The peace that ignores thee..." Reaching up with his other hand and smearing blood on the other side of his face he continues as the magic built to a climax around him.

"...thou corrupt." Using both hands he smeared a symbol on his forehead in blood.

"Chaos. I remain, as ever, thy faithful, degenerate son."

With the Spell finished the Raw magic was unleashed upon Sunnydale. Up the air above the small town it quickly started to find the costumes it was to inhabit.

Moving slowly at first the magic started turning the children wearing costumes, into their costumes.

Slowly spreading across town creating chaos wherever it touched, the magic was heading to Sunnydale High school when it suddenly stopped.

Yes, somewhere over to the east were two costumes it had to inhabit entirely. they had more of the potion on it that all the other costumes combined. Sensing this the Magic started out across the town again. Touching costumes as it went but not wavering from the sense of the two costume's.

These must be done entirely.

"Come on you two, we're going to be late." Xander Yelled up the Stairs for a Second time

"We're just coming Xander," Willow replied before putting on her 'mask'. "So Buffy what do you think?" Willow tried to say but it was muffled somewhat coming out the mask as there was no mouth hole.

Buffy understood anyway. "You look good wills. I'm sure Xander is going to go completely non verbal when he see's you. Come on we'd better be going."

Walking down the stairs she saw Xander at the front door waiting for them.

"Lady Buffy, Duchess of Buffonia I am in awe, you look beautiful, my lady." Xander Bowed down taking her hand and kissing it softly.

It had taken him a while but he had finally got the contact lenses in and was now wearing them and the green mask that came with the costume. The effect the contact lenses had on his eyes was astounding Buffy noted. The green actually shone through making it seem as if there was a light of some sort of energy behind Xander's eyes.

"And now for our finest costume, Batgirl!" Buffy swept aside holding her arm out pointing towards the stairs as Willow came down the stairs came trailing behind her.

"Oh wow," Xander let slip. Gathering his thoughts. "you look fabulous Willow. True I prefer the Barbara Gordon Batgirl but Cassie is defiantly more you."

Xander couldn't see inside the mask but if he could he would have seen a look of confusion pass over Willows face. There were two Batgirl's? She thought to herself. And I had to pick the wrong one.

Taking her hand and leading her to the bottom of the stairs. Xander led both the Women out into the Night. "You know ladies. I think tonight might just be fun." he said smiling at the girls. The green contacts in his eyes making them Shine even more than usual.

Xander grinned to himself as he started to walk to the school. There was something in the air tonight. Xander found himself almost exited by the prospect. Tonight would be fun. He could feel it in his bones.

At the school Mr. Giles was patiently waiting with Principal Snyder in his 'Doctor' outfit. It was the same one had had worn years ago. He even had an imitation 'sonic screwdriver' in his pocket.

He just needed Buffy, Willow and Xander to Arrive then he could go and pick Ms. Calendar up and join Joyce at her house for a Drink while the teenagers were out trick or treating.

Suddenly a few blocks down from him Giles saw a bright Flash of green light. It was a colour like he'd never seen before.  
Muttering a soft "Bloody hell, Halloween's supposed to be quiet." he started to head towards the direction of the light. Hoping to meet Buffy and the others on the way.

There was nothing her knew that could generate that amount of light. He was still a good 4 or 5 blocks away when the green light suddenly disappeared. Putting on a sprint of speed Giles made the next 2 blocks with ease.

Stopping for breath he looked around him. There were no children out tonight.

In their place were monsters of every description. Some from fantasy, some he'd never even seen before. Knowing if he stopped too long he'd be food for the growing number of creatures he was noticing around him he started running again, adrenaline pushing his body.

Throwing down the over sized scarf and the jacket Giles turned the next corner to see something amazing.

Xander was stood there. Glowing a bright green that bathed the area in its soft light. He had 6 of the creatures locked in almost transparent cages that we glowing a soft green like him. No not glowing a soft green it was like they were made out of the green light.

Besides this he was also floating a few feet off the ground Giles noted.

Lying on the floor next to him was Buffy, or someone who looked like Buffy but had long dark curly hair and was dressed as a noble woman out of 18th century Europe.

Knelling down over her was another girl. Giles couldn't see her face as it was clouded in shadow. Unusual considering how close she was to Xander who was radiating this soft emerald light.

"Is she hurt?" Giles asked moving quickly to Buffy's side.

"Nah, she just fainted after seeing a truck, she screamed something about a demon and then fainted." The reply had a voice of authority and power to it Giles had never heard before.

"Forgive me." The Glowing man said "The last I remember I was on earth dealing with a crisis in Gotham City. The next thing I know I'm stood here with this woman and Batgirl surrounded by these creatures. They don't look human but their life force or energy is. Can you tell me what's going on here?"

"Uh yes, quite." Giles stammered out, reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief and slowly polishing his glasses. "May I ask who you are?"

"Oh sorry." the man said. "I'm ION."

"Well ION," Giles said almost tasting the words "perhaps we should relocate somewhere safer before explanation's are given. If you'd like to follow me we can go to the high school Library where I have a few books that might be able to explain this situation. I can also find a first aid kit there to help rouse the lady there."

"That sounds like a good plan." Yhe air suddenly glowing around him, Batgirl, Buffy and Giles.

Upon looking around Giles determined that they were in fact in the high school library. "But how... teleportation like that takes an awful lot of power and preparation." Giles finally got out flustered.

"Not for me it doesn't. I can move between places, time frames and dimensions just as easily as that. Now what was your name before we continue?" ION Said creating a comfy reclining chair for him to sit on and doing the same for Giles.

Batgirl meanwhile sat on one of the library chairs and simply watched this unfold. She was used to strange situations but those being they had encountered on the street were like nothing she had seen before. They reminded her of stories batman had told her about 'Parademons' from a place called Apokoplipse.

Was this where they were now? That place was ruled over by a despot called Darksied she remembered. If they were on Apokoplipse she was glad she had ION with her. Even Superman couldn't take Darksied down.

"Uh. I'm Mr Giles. Thank you. May I just ask how are you doing this? It feels solid but it looks almost transparent. Its glows the same green as the cages you made for those creatures back on the street. Where are they?" Giles finished up looking around almost panicking.

"Oh those. I put them in the high school basement and froze time around them, a simple trick but it should hold them for long enough," Smiling at himself ION continued to laze back in his chair. "now, you mentioned something about an Explanation."

* * *

AN: Ok yeah I gave in and usual Willow as batgirl. I couldn't bring myself to let her be Barbara though. that one's only for special stories ;)  
Well hope your all still enjoying this. finally got them into their costumes. now a bit a reading up on ION to figure out the extent on his powers. nigh omnipotent doesn't give me much to go on lol  
Anyway thanks for all the great reviews ya make an old man feel happy again ;)

M


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

TITLE: The Power of XION  
AUTHOR: Methos if ya want to host it somewhere else just tell me where ya putting it ok? ;)  
DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Green Lantern, ION, Batgirl and any other mentions of DC characters belong to DC Comics ok? I own nothing ;)  
SUMMARY: On Halloween Ethan's little costume stunt may have changed the future more that he know. and created something completely new in this dimension.  
FEEDBACK: love it :) my first fanfic and so many reviews already :) more please lol  
RELATIONSHIPS: None as yes, copious amounts of flirting yes but no relationships planned.  
RATING: FR18  
SPOILERS: Anything from the Halloween episode onwards. I plan on taking the story through to the bitter end of Buffy. Changing a few things along the way of course ;)

* * *

"Well Mr. ION." Giles started

"Please just ION."

"I can guess from your... abilities? Powers... yes powers that you're used to strange situations?" Giles lent forward. It was quite a strange experience for him. Sitting across from him was Xander. But he was displaying powers that even with his amount of knowledge couldn't classify.

"Well you could say that Mr. Giles," ION smirked at a personal joke. Having personally witness someone trying to restart the big bang or fighting super villains that could use sound or magnetism to their advantage was a usual day for him. Not to mention the fact that he was now pretty much omnipotent. He could exist in multiple segments of time and space at the same time and retail complete control over the environment he was in. "yes. I believe I can adapt to anything you tell me."

"Well, we should start at the beginning then. May I ask what you look like?"

ION was a bit taken aback by this question. He knew with his mask on it covered a bit of his face but not that much. Surely he could get a general idea of what he looked like.

"Allow me to explain," Giles started standing up from his chair and moving over to his office. "I believe that you are not in your universe anymore. Well I believe it would be easier to show you." Giles came back out of his office holding a small hand held mirror that Jenny had left there the previous day.

Passing the mirror to ION Giles again sat down in the 'chair', examining it in closer detail.

ION picked up the mirror and stared into it. Suddenly both the chairs disappeared.

Giles found himself laying flat on the floor whilst ION just suspended himself in the air glowing softly green again.

Sure enough he now understood what Mr. Giles question was about. He knew he was Kyle Rayner. He remembered everything from the fight with Hal on OA and the destruction of the Corps. His Fiancé Jen who he had recently granted her powers back to, and the dress down Superman had given him about letting humans control their own fate.

To him he was Kyle Rayner. He was ION. But looking into this mirror it was evident that he wasn't.

The image looking back at him was not his own. There was a resemblance but that where it ended.

His hair was short and spiky, unlike his hair now that was in curtains falling messily around his head. Pretty much like his hair was when he first became a Green Lantern.

His eyes were the same though. They had been this bright green since he became the ION. No matter what he did to disguise it his eyes always shone through with a hint of the power beneath them.

The main thing was that the body he was in was a lot younger than he was. He was twenty seven. He estimated that the body he was in now was about 10 years younger than that.

Looking over he noticed Mr. Giles picking himself up off the floor. Moving over he helped him up.

"I'm sorry, that just came as a bit of a shock. Did you know this person before me? I mean before he became me? I'm sorry this is a bit confusing." Kyle scratched his head and looked at Mr. Giles

"Yes I did," dusting himself off and sitting in one of the 'real chairs' of the library. Gesturing for ION to do the same he continued. "he was a student here at Sunnydale High school. Its Halloween you see and him and some of his friends were taking some of the children out trick or treating as part of a school project. Uh, do you mind if I get a cup of tea. it's soothing in times like this. Would you and... Batgirl is it? Like one also?"

"Please allow me Mr Giles." looking over Batgirl shook her head so Kyle just waved his hand and a construct of wonder woman appeared and walked over to the office. Shortly after they could hear a kettle boiling, then 'Wonder Woman' came back in with the 2 cups of tea, placed them on the table before vanishing back into the ether

Looking over at the shocked Mr. Giles he smiled. He had seen the same face on his mother when he first showed her his powers. He had the same look on his face the first time he himself had used a power ring.

"Well... thank you." Giles stuttered out before taking his glasses off and cleaning them. This was the third time he's done that in ten minutes. Some sort of nervous habit obviously Kyle thought to himself.

"I take it then that you don't have superhero's here then?" Kyle decided to get the explanation going again.

"Uh... no ION," placing his glasses back on his nose and taking a sip of tea before continuing. "You do in your world then?"

"Well there are quite a few. Me and batgirl are but a few I could name, there's the famous ones like Superman and Batman..."

"Please, let me interrupt you there. Superman and Batman are real where you come from?"

"Yeah. You should have heard the dressing down I got from superman just the other day, and Batman? He's just creepy." giving a theatrical shudder he smiled at Mr. Giles face. He looked like he'd just been told that Father Christmas was real.

"Well, I think I know a bit more about what's happened here then. You see in this universe you, and you," pointing at batgirl "are just comic characters I believe. I can't say I've actually heard of you ION but I have heard of Batgirl, and Batman and Superman. They are comic characters here so I believe that somehow the usual residents of this town have been transformed into whatever costumes they were wearing. This would explain the creatures you found yourself facing when you first arrived here. They were actually children that had been turned into their costumes,"

Standing up and starting to pace Giles continued.

"yes that's the only way I can think this could have happened. We need to find out how this happened and stop it before someone actually gets hurt or worse," turning to face ION. "can you help me, you see the world we live in has real monsters like the ones you contained but much worse. Vampires and the such. Now we do have a superhero of sorts. This young girl, Buffy," ION grinned at the name but said nothing letting Mr. Giles continue. "she helps slay the demons and vampires. I suppose she is an equivalent of a hero in this world."

Standing up ION looked at the girl. She didn't look much like a hero. She looked very much like an average teenage girl, but as he was quickly learning things were not always what they appeared to be in this dimension.

"Well can't we just wake her up and get her to help then?"

"No. If I am correct Buffy will have been changed into her costume just like you and you," Giles said pointing to both ION and Batgirl in turn. "I believe it best that he let her sleep through the thing while we find a way to reverse the effects of whatever's happening here."

"Well it's your world Mr. Giles, your Call. If I stay with you and try and find the source of this disturbance, Batgirl could you head outside and patrol the area. Make sure that no one is hurt before we manage to fix this ok?" smiling at Batgirl she quickly nodded then jumped in what was an impossible leap to Giles eyes over a book shelf and vanished out the window.

"Does she not talk much then?"

Smiling ION shook his head. "No, she's a mute. She may be quiet but she's effective. Trained by the best there is," He could say what he wanted about Batman but he couldn't disregard the man's training or obvious skill. The girl had the same skill levels. He'd only met her a few times but every time he was left impressed by what the girl was capable of. "How do you suppose we locate this disturbance then Mr. Giles?" ION asked, now looking at Giles intently.

"Well magic in this world leaves behind a trail. An energy, of sorts."

ION smiled at this.

"Energy you say Mr. Giles? If that's the case then I believe we have found out answer."

Giles just looked puzzled at this.

"Please allow me." with this he surrounded Mr. Giles in a protective shield and flew upwards. Phasing through the ceiling and the floors above him he quickly left the school building and flew a good hundred foot up in the air before coming to a stop and looking over.

Giles was amazed. Looking around he could see everything through the green bubble he had been placed in. Even though it was see through it felt as strong as steel. Looking down Giles could see the entire of Sunnydale and further. He could see the glow of Los Angeles on the horizon. Planes in the Sky and the moon over head. Admitted everything had a green hue to it but it was breathtaking.

Snapping his fingers to get Mr. Giles attention ION quickly reminded him of the situation at hand.

"Yes, quite. I'm sorry it's just... well..." Giles stuttered out waving his hand around at the view.

Smiling Kyle knew what he meant but this wasn't his world. If he was here did that mean he wasn't in his world? He couldn't answer these questions so he pushed them out of his mind focusing on the situation at hand.

Alarming Giles ION floated through the green bubble as if it wasn't there before forming two chairs for them to sit on again.

"You see Mr. Giles, energy is what I am. Well not what I am, I am human or was but... it's complicated ok? Look what I'm trying to say is that I'm very good with energy. This bubble. All of my constructs are energy in pure form given shape by my imagination and will." Trying to explain what he was about to do Kyle continued.

"You said magic leaves a trail. Right?" looking over he saw Mr. Giles nod still looking a bit dumbfounded.

"Well if I highlight the area's that have this 'energy' around them we should find the location of whatever's causing this. Am I right?"

"Well yes. But we're talking about the entire of Sunnydale. You have the power to do this?"

"Mr. Giles, I have the power to split atoms with a thought. To travel through time and space at a whim, I think highlighting some energy disturbance shouldn't be a problem." smiling again at Mr. Giles face he filed away the fact that there really wasn't anything like him or the other hero's in this world.

"Well... yes... quite..." Giles managed to finally say. To say the discovery of what this ION could do were disturbing to say the least.

Concentrating for a second Kyle scanned through the frequencies of energy around Sunnydale and came across one that he hadn't seen before. There were three hot spots of this energy on Sunnydale. Confident that he had found the right one he smiled and created spotlights on the top of the bubble shining down on the areas in question.

"Well Mr. Giles I believe I have found our energy. There are three areas where this energy seems to be the strongest." gesturing for Mr. Giles to stand up and look for himself he stood aside.

"Well yes that certainly helps. Yes, that's the high school beneath us. That would be the strongest beneath the school is a dimensional portal called the Hellmouth. So we can discount that at the source. So that leaves those two." looking over Giles couldn't quite see what the other two were.

"Ok so let's check the strongest one first then move on to the second. Does that sound good?" Without waiting for a reply Kyle took the bubble off at full speed to the area he had spotted with the second strongest amount of this energy around it. Within seconds they were on the ground again outside what looked to be a costume shop.

"Well this is it." ION said disappearing the bubble now it had served its purpose.

"Ethan. I bloody well should have known." Giles saw the name on the costume shop and went storming towards the front door kicking it open violently.

"Whoa, whoa there." Kyle rushed over grabbing him. "We should take this carefully. We haven't got a clue about what's inside there or what effect this 'magic' will have on me so can we take it a bit slower?"

"I know exactly what's in there ION. An old friend of mine Ethan Rayne. This stunt stinks of him. He worships the chaos god Janus and this little stunt is exactly the sort of trick he'd pull. Not caring a bit about the innocents harmed during it." storming away from ION Giles started making his way through the store to the back room.

Grimacing at this new turn of events Kyle just looked at Mr. Giles and followed him. He was almost scary during that rant, reminding him of Manchester Black back in his own world. Maybe there's more to his English friend than met the eyes.

Following through the costume shop Kyle peeked through the curtains Mr. Giles had gone through a minute or two before hand and saw him give a vicious right rook to another man.

"Ethan Rayne. I should have known." Giles looked down at Ethan. Smiling inside at the bloody lip he had just given him.

"This stunt is really all you." swung back his leg ready to kick then in the ribs while he was on the floor but found himself restrained by a glowing green barrier.

"ION! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing? This man is responsible for everything that's happened tonight and god knows what else." Giles was fuming but he knew there was no way he could break through these restraints.

"Well Mr. Giles if you beat the crap out of him how ya going find out how to reverse the 'spell' then?" looking over to Giles to see if he had made him point.

"If you just kill the fool then we could all be stuck like this forever. Is that what you want? Is it?" Kyle practically got right up in Mr. Giles face. "Let me handle this ok? I deal with trash like him everyday."

Walking over to Ethan, Kyle Knelt down and looked Ethan right in the eyes.

"Now you're going to tell me how to reverse the spell safely. Then me and you are going to take a trip down to the police station when you're going to tell them exactly what you've done. Ok?"

Laughing softly Ethan looked up at the Man before recognizing the costume from before. This was the ION Costume. The boy wearing it had obviously got the full effect of the spell, this really was the character from the books stood here.

"You really don't get it do you?" Ethan smiled up to ION. "The police won't do anything. They believe in magic about as much as they do in bloody superman."

Looking up and the scowling face of ION Ethan quickly assessed his options. None. He knew the character ION and knew what he was capable off. There was no way he could get away or distract the being knelt over him so he decided to go with the truth hoping that when the spell ended he's be able to get away in all the confusion that followed.

"The statue, break the statue. That will end the spell." he motioned over to the statue of Janus on the Table by the far wall.

Kyle quickly analyzing the man's voice to see if he was telling the truth. He quickly created some bonds around the man to hold him in place then walked over to the statue examining it.

The statue was a weird thing. Not of any god he knew but then again different world, different gods. He picked the statue up and walked over to where Giles was and released him from his bonds.

"Sorry about that. I just got thinking. If I'm here then what's going on in my universe while I'm not there to help? No offense but all this stuff about different dimensions gives me a headache anyway," smiling at Mr. Giles and Receiving a smile back he handed the statue over. "look when you break that more than likely we're all going to go back to the way we were before the spell so..." he waved his hand causing a startled Batgirl to appear.

"I take it everything went ok?" looking at batgirl and receiving an enthusiastic nod in response. "Well are you ready to go home then? I don't think this worlds ready for me and you just yet." grinning he looked over a Mr. Giles.

"Well then. It's been a pleasure working with you ION."

"Please, Call me Kyle." holding out a hand.

Giles shook it gratefully. "Rupert Giles. If you ever do come back somehow, please look me up. It would be interesting to learn more about your world and you're... powers."

"Well then Rupert I think it's about time we leave you, and return these body's to their right full owners."

Smiling at Rupert one last time he nodded his acceptance as Giles threw the statue down on the floor.

For a second everything went black.

"What the hell?" Xander quickly exclaimed. "G-man. What's going on? Where are we?"

Batgirl suddenly looking panicked tore off her hood to reveal Willow underneath.

Giles smiling at the use of the moniker for the first time just walked over to Xander and smiled.

"I never thought I'd be glad to hear you say they Xander. Now I think it'd be best if we make out way back to the high school where some explanations are in order. As for you Ethan..." Looking around the bonds holding Ethan no longer there. Neither was Ethan. "Bloody hell when I catch him..." Giles let the threat trail off as he led Xander and Willow back to the school collecting lost children along the way.

Back at the high school library.

"Giles, thank god. What happened tonight? The last thing I remember was walking to the school with Xander and Willow then everything kinda went black. The next thing I remember is waking up on the table over there. Giles this is extremely wigsome, what happened? Where have you been?"

Smiling at the questions Giles looked over at Buffy and grinned. All was right with the world.

"Buffy, why don't you go home and sleep it off. You too, you two." Giles said nodding to the group. "I'll see all of you tomorrow morning at school ok? Just let me know if anything strange happens ok?"

"Strange Giles? Like wh..." Buffy quickly went quiet at the look her watcher gave her and started walking for the door. "Ok Giles tomorrow. But it'd better be good ok? Come on guys." Buffy walked out of the library followed by Xander and Willow.

Looking down Giles noticed the two cups of tea still on the table. Smiling he went into his office and put the kettle on. Well maybe we haven't got super hero's like ION and Batgirl he thought to himself, but we always do alright in the end.

Smiling he sat down to enjoy his cup of tea.

* * *

Across town

After the spell had ended 'Supergirl' had come crashing to the ground. Luckily she had only been flying a few feet above the ground, flying towards a vampire when it happened.

Landing on her ass she quickly rolled to the side letting the blonde wig roll off onto the floor.

"Well that was different." she muttered to herself before looking up and noticing the vampire now standing over her.

"not so high and mighty now are you Supergirl." The vampire snarled sarcastically before grabbing his victim.

"Nooo!" came the scream before something unexpected happened. Trying to fight off the vampire, although knowing it was futile she pushed up into the vampire's chest as hard as she could.

Instead of laughing at her the vampire found himself being lifted on the ground and flying upwards at an amazing speed.

Looking at the vampire sailing towards the sky she could hardly believe her eyes. Even in Sunnydale this was weird.

Picking up her wig she started to make her way home. She'd figure it out tomorrow after school.

* * *

The next day at school

"Then Kyle Broke the statue and everyone reverted to their normal selves." Giles finished off the summery of the last nights events.

He could see from the shocked looks around the table that no one had expected this explanation of last night.

"Wait G-man so you mean I was actually flying? And I could create glowey green things?"

Smiling at the simplistic way Xander put things he nodded his head.

"Whoa..." Xander just slumped back in his chair.

He'd felt different as soon as he'd woken up this morning. He could feel the energy around him. Looking around now I could see the energy around people. He couldn't stop looking at Buffy though. The energy inside her was amazing.

Unlike everyone else whose energy just looked like a mess to him. The slayers energy was pure emerald brilliance. He'd have to look into it further but he could swear he'd seen something like it before.

He couldn't fly or anything like that yet though. He tried to make simple things appear but then just lasted a few seconds before disappearing back to where they came from.

Xander knew he should tell Giles but something was holding him back. Now he had some power. Now he could actually help Buffy. If he could just master it. When he did... he'd tell them then.

"Well as I said last night. Did anyone notice anything strange about themselves last night or today?" Giles looked around the group focusing his attention a little longer on Xander than the others.

"Yeah I can speak French now Giles. I answered every question in my French class in perfect French and then Mrs. Jacobs sent me to Snyder's for cheating." Buffy pouted crossing her arms.

"I noticed it as well Giles. My reflexes and agility are way above what they used to be. I mean in gym class I could vault, jump and climb better than anyone in the class. It was amazing. Mr. Ellis wants me to try out for the gymnastic team later on" Willow told the group bouncing up and down in her chair.

"Look"

As if to prove a point she reached over her shoulders and grasped the top of the backrest of the chair and kicking off the ground vaulted up so she was in a handstand on the top of the chair balancing it perfectly.

"Um... Wills? You do realize you're wearing a skirt right?" Xander interrupted her display grinning

Squeaking Willow let her concentration drift with the embarrassment she was feeling and cluttered to the floor in a mess of arms and legs.

Laughing Xander moved over to pick her up noticing she was bright red.

"What about that creep Ethan, do you think he'll come back?" Buffy asked picking up her bag.

"Not if he has any sense he won't. No Ethan's a strong survivor. He knows that if he comes back here we'll all be hunting him. I doubt we'll see his face again." And if we do I'll kick his teeth in. Giles mentally added.

"Well come on guys. We've still got classes and I don't want to have Snyder on my back again today." Buffy slung her bag over her shoulder and Xander and Willow picked up theirs and started walking over to the doors.

"What about you Xander? Any leftover effects?" Giles asked looking intently at Xander

Smiling as he reached the door's holding them open for the two girls to go through he turned and smiles back to Giles letting his eyes shine green with power. "Nah just seem to be better at drawing for some reason or another. Make sense Kyle being an artist and all." With that Xander quickly fled the library

Did his eyes just glow? Giles asked himself. No Xander would have told us if anything like that was left he rationalized. Chuckling to himself Giles made his way into the office to get some paperwork done.

* * *

Across town

Picking up a steel bar the young women bent it into a clean circle before tossing it aside. Turning her vision to a log in her garden she concentrated her vision until the log burst into flame.

Realizing what she'd done she quickly let out a blast of super breath blowing the fire out but also blowing down two of the trees at the end of the garden.

"Well it's going to take a lot of getting used too." she muttered to herself as she walked back into the house.

"Now weather to keep the uniform or burn it?" she chuckled to herself before folding the Supergirl uniform up and placing it in the back of a drawer.

Maybe someday I'll use it, but the blonde just isn't me. She smiled throwing the wig into the bin. Then sitting down she concentrated her vision on the wall until it slowly turned opaque, then totally see through.

Quickly turning off this power when she realized she was looking into another person's bedroom she laughed to herself again.

"Yeah, a lot of getting used to."

AN: heh yeah I'm evil not telling you who supergirl is yet. I bet a lot of you have theories but ya ain't gonna find out for a bit ;)  
anyway hope you all enjoyed the start to my story. with Halloween over now the real fun can begin.  
Xander, with ION's powers. this should be fun :)

M


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

TITLE: The Power of XION  
AUTHOR: Methos if ya want to host it somewhere else just tell me where ya putting it ok? ;)  
DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Green Lantern, ION, Batgirl and any other mentions of DC characters belong to DC Comics ok? I own nothing ;)  
SUMMARY: On Halloween Ethan's little costume stunt may have changed the future more that he know. and created something completely new in this dimension.  
FEEDBACK: love it :) my first fanfic and so many reviews already :) more please lol  
RELATIONSHIPS: None as yes, copious amounts of flirting yes but no relationships planned.  
RATING: FR18  
SPOILERS: Anything from the Halloween episode onwards. I plan on taking the story through to the bitter end of Buffy. Changing a few things along the way of course ;)

AUTHORS NOTES:

ok just a quickie here. just wanted to get Xander's power's out in the open before I launch into the rest of season 2 :)  
glad people are enjoying it. as for who supergirl is... that won't be revealed for a few episodes yet.  
heh heh heh  
well hope you all enjoy and if ya like it or have an idea leave a review :)

M

* * *

Giles looked up from his desk to see Xander walking into the library. Not that this wasn't a unusual occurrence when he was following Buffy or Willow but this morning he was on his own, and to make it even stranger it was only eight in the morning.

Giles himself had only been here half an hour.

"Hey Giles, hoped you'd be here." Xander walked over to the counter and leaned on it as Giles walked out of his office to great him.

"Well Xander, this is unexpected. I thought you would still be asleep at this time in the morning." gesturing to the clock Giles smiled.

"Yeah I know that's one of the things I've been meaning to talk to you about. Look Giles I haven't been completely honest about what happened after Halloween." nervously drumming his fingers on the counter he looked over at Giles for any sign of disappointment or anger.

Giles just took this in his stride, thinking that Xander had obviously come to him to try and figure out exactly what had happened. He walked around and sat down by the table in the center of the library moving a chair out so that Xander could take a seat as well.

Walking over Xander threw his bag on the table and sat down leaning back in the chair.

"Look firstly I want to say that not telling you first of all was a mistake but I wanted to try and understand exactly what had happened before coming to you and making myself look like a total idiot in front of the girls ok?"

Giles looked over at the youth. He was carefully avoiding eye contact and looking worried about something.

"What I mean to say is that I got a little more left over that some drawing ability, don't get the wrong the drawing is cool. I mean look at these," with this Xander pulled out his sketch pad from his bag and opened it in front of Giles.

The entire sketch pad was full of images of Buffy and Willow. Mostly Buffy in scantily clad outfits but the art work itself was amazing. Flipping through the sketch pad he could see that Xander really had talent now. Even if his subject choice was a bit 'off'.

But teenagers will be teenagers.

"I mean I filled up the entire sketch pad in two nights. I just have to imagine what I want to see and I can draw it right. I never used to be able to draw like this." Giles could see the proud young man beaming as he showed off his new talent.

"But the other thing, that's what's got me worried."

"Well Xander why don't you tell me precisely what you mean and then we'll go from there ok?"

"Giles. I've still got it." Xander quipped. Looking over to Giles for any sign of fear or rejection, but seeing only puzzlement in the older man's eyes.

"Got what?" Giles asked.

"All of it. Well I'm not sure about all of it but I can feel it in my head. All the power running about. And when I look at people I can see the energy in them, I don't know what it is. Their life force, their brain activity. All I know is I can see it. I can see the electricity running round computers, through walls. And that's not the half of it." at this point Giles was polishing his glasses intently.

"Look Giles I can't do even a tenth of what ION could do. I can hardly even create a construct. Look."

To show Giles what he meant he tried to create a 'Buffy' in the library.

Giles just looked at it in shock then moved over to examine it closely.

The 'Buffy' was as detailed as the artwork had been. Aside from glowing green you wouldn't have been able to distinguish it from the real thing.

"Well it looks almost perfect to me Xander. What's the problem with it?"

Moving over to the 'Buffy' construct Xander waved in front of it. "There's nothing there Giles. The way ION does it his constructs are alive, they're vibrant. I can make pretty much a statue," to prove a point he tapped on the construct's head to make a hollow noise. "they're empty Giles."

Sitting down again Giles looked over to Xander. "Well it seems that you have kept a hold of some of ION's powers. I take it you want rid of them? If so there maybe some rituals we can perform. A kind of binding ritual to keep you from using the energy." seeing Giles go into full research mode Xander quickly went over to try and make his point again.

"No, no Giles. I don't want rid of these powers. I mean they finally tip the scales in my favor. If I can control these properly I could do so much to help Buffy. To help everyone," trying to make Giles see his view point Xander sat on the table and looked at Giles intently. "Look with these powers we could finally seal the Hellmouth for good. Vampires wouldn't be a problem, hell even demons wouldn't be a problem."

"Xander I do see where you're coming from but these powers. They're dangerous to be frank. ION told me a bit about what he could do with them and it scared me. There was no limit to what he could do with them. I mean he was practically a..."

"Go on Giles. Say it. I know because that's what I thought first of all."

"God. He was practically a god." Giles finished off softly now realizing that if Xander still had all of his powers then he was up on that power level as well.

"And that's what I mean Giles. I mean come on your scared of me now. It's just me. Xander. And you're scared of me."

"No Xander that's not it. I'm just scared. Well terrified about what would happen if you lost control. Or if you got turned into a vampire. Have you considered those events?"

"Yes I have. That's why I came to you. Giles for one I don't think I can be turned anymore. The energy inside me, well to be honest it's so powerful it scares me. But if a vamp tried to bite me I think it would find itself having quite a shock," chuckling at his joke for a minute he continued. "I mean for the vamp it would be like being hit by lightning and I don't think even they could survive that."

Smiling for a second Giles considered that. He actually hadn't thought about it that way, and the thought now that Xander couldn't be turned into a vampire was quite reassuring.

"As for the other thing. That's why I came to you. Giles I don't want to lose my temper. I don't want to lose control. I want you to help me. Teach me some of that British stiff upper lip stuff."

Laughing out loud for the first time in a while, Giles could see that this was still Xander. Maybe now he had the power to level entire continents but it was still Xander and he would do the right thing.

"Ok Xander I'll teach you how to keep control. But on one condition."

"Name it G-man, anything." feeling as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders Xander was grinning like a maniac.

"Can you please get rid of that... thing," waving over to the Buffy construct still stood in place like a statue. "It's quite distracting."

"Sure thing." with a wave the construct disappeared.

"We'll have to be careful though. Without a specific guide to tell us what your limitations are, if indeed you have any. We will have to proceed slowly. I take it from that little display that you can create anything you want?"

"Haven't found something I can't G-man, well I can create anything I can imagine. All I have to do is imagine it and then concentrate on making it real. I can't make them alive or anything otherwise I'd still be in bed with my personal harem of Buffy's." grinning at the thought he jumped back on the table.

"And the best thing is I don't even need to get dressed I my costume anymore. Watch."

Xander walked over to a clear space in the library and then concentrated on his 'costume'.

Green energy seemed to flicker out from Xander's entire body wrapping itself around him moving slowly upwards from his feet over his head.

The transformation was amazing. When it was done Xander stood there in exactly the same costume that ION had done. The mask and everything. Even his eyes shone through the mask with the same energy they had done before.

Xander quickly whipped around hearing clapping from behind him.

"Now that was cool Xander." Buffy stood in the doorway of the library with Willow.

"Well Giles I came to tell you about some unusual vamp activity last night, but I think I've just solved the problem." Buffy grinned walking past Xander and jumping up on the table.

"So Xander I take it you kept a bit more than just the drawing skills from last night then." Buffy asked curiously as she flipped though the sketch pad.

"Yeah Buff. It seems ION left me a little gift. I'm one of the big guns now." To illustrate his point he created a construct of a futuristic gun in his hand and started waving it around.

Buffy laughed putting the sketchbook down and walking over. "Ohh pretty. Can I see?" she asked nodding at the gun.

"Sure buff." Throwing the gun over to Buffy she caught the construct easily.

"It doesn't weigh anything Xander. Does it work?" Buffy asked looking down the gun trying to find a sight.

"Nah buff. It's just a prop type thing," Waving his hands he gun disappeared. "this might be more you though." waving his hand again he created a construct of a sword in her hand.

"Oh wow, it's beautiful. Does everything have to be this weird green color though?"

"Yeah buff. Sorry but that's one of the limitations I do have. It all comes out green."

"Xander. You mean you're still... I mean you still have all the powers... I mean... wow." Willow babbled flopping down on a chair.

"Yeah will's. I kept everything. I mean look at me. I could even take down The Master now without breaking a sweat."

"Yeah we heard. Out patrolling by any chance last night Xander?" Buffy asked accusingly

Waving his hand first taking away Buffy's weapon Xander walked over to the table and sat down.

"Yeah I went out for a quick walk and met a few vamps. Took them down easily though. Didn't even bother with a construct just a quick blast of raw energy killed 'em straight off." grinning Xander started floating above the chair glowing green.

"Well I met a few vamps last night. They must have seen you. They kept muttering something about a green death. That's what I came to Giles to ask about, and the other thing. You send any vamps into orbit?"

"Orbit? Nah not me. I just killed the things then went home. Didn't think about giving any of them flying lessons. Though maybe with a jet pack..." Xander drifted off on his own train of thought.

"Well I was patrolling last night and the weirdest thing. This vampire came falling down out of nowhere. I mean he just fell out of the sky Giles. He hit the ground and just turned to dust. No stake or anything."

"Well yes Buffy. There is only a certain about of damage a vampire's body can take before it turns into dust. A stake or cutting of its head are quicker ways but I imagine if you cause enough damage to a vampires body then it would turn into dust eventually," Giles took off his glasses and started polishing them going into watcher mode. "But I couldn't tell you anything that would be able to launch a vampire into the sky that far. Not even you would be able to throw a vampire that far up Buffy."

"Xander. I know what you are" Willow interrupted, causing Xander to fall out of the air back onto his chair.

"I know the character ION. There was nothing he couldn't do. I mean you're pretty much godlike now Xander." Willow continued looking at Xander in awe.

"You mean Xander? He's a god?" Buffy looked at Xander noticing he looked a lot more confident it himself now he had had a hair cut he looked almost handsome in the outfit. "Come on will's Xander?"

"No I mean it Buffy. The power he now has. They're nothing short of god like, and Xander when did you cut your hair. It wasn't like that yesterday." Willow finished off looking at Xander more intently. He did look yummy in the leather outfit, and the new spiky hair was defiantly him.

"Firstly I'm not a god. I'm just the same old Xander. This power's just made me even better at what I did before," changing his outfit back to his normal school clothes he continued. "See. Still Xander. And as for the hair, I did it myself. It didn't feel like me anymore"

"So you were handed the powers of a god?" Buffy looked over and Xander to see him nod slowly. "And the first thing you did was give yourself a trim?"

Laughing Buffy and Willow jumped over to hug him.

"And that makes you all feel better does it?"

"Oddly enough yes" Giles answered. "It's vain. A very human trait. It's also very you Xander."

"Yeah Xander. It's defiantly a Xander type move." Buffy said ruffling her hand through his hair.

Laughing Xander hugged the girls back.

"Well it looks like we've got out first mystery girls. The case of the flying vampires." Xander joked causing giggles to erupt from Buffy and Willow.

"Come on Xander let's get to class. You can tell me all about your new powers at lunch ok?" Buffy asked picking up her bag and heading for the doors.

Scooping his sketch pad back into his bag Xander followed. "Ok buff, but ya ain't going to like some of them."

Following after Xander Willow was last to leave. Carefully staying behind Xander to watch his ass walk out the door she smiled to herself. I wonder what that looks like in the leather. Smiling to herself she let her imagination go wild as they walked to computer class.


	6. Chapter 6

**chapter 6**

TITLE: The Power of XION  
AUTHOR: Methos if ya want to host it somewhere else just tell me where ya putting it ok? ;)  
DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Green Lantern, ION, Batgirl and any other mentions of DC characters belong to DC Comics ok? I own nothing ;)  
SUMMARY: On Halloween Ethan's little costume stunt may have changed the future more that he know. and created something completely new in this dimension.  
FEEDBACK: love it :) my first fanfic and so many reviews already :) more please lol  
RELATIONSHIPS: None as yes, copious amounts of flirting yes but no relationships planned.  
RATING: FR18  
SPOILERS: Anything from the Halloween episode onwards. I plan on taking the story through to the bitter end of Buffy. Changing a few things along the way of course ;)

AUTHORS NOTES:

wow first episode from season 2 out of the way. only a hundred or more to go lol  
actually can't complain really enjoyed writing this figuring out how to do things differently or how to change things with Xander's powers. it was fun :)  
anyway glad every ones still enjoying it. couple of recognitions in this chapter to random DC characters. ya get a cookie if you spot them all.  
hope everyone's still enjoying it and there'll probably be another update tomorrow night with the "the dark age" episode.

enjoy

* * *

"Look Buffy I've told you before. I'm not going to use my powers to change your grade on the school computer system." Xander looked over at Buffy pouting. "I'm not using my powers for things like that Buffy. It's not right"

Willow was sat on the chair next to Xander just thinking about how much he had grown in the time since he had received these powers. He may have the power to rival a god now but he's still Xander.

"Come on anyway, we've got to talk to Giles about what I saw last night," Buffy says as she stands up waiting for Xander and Willow to follow. "well come on. He needs to know about Angel and this skanky woman he was with. Well?"

"Buffy I can't side with Angel on this one, mainly because I think it's a physical impossibility for me to agree with Angel on anything but maybe you're overreacting just a bit? You don't know if they were even doing anything," Xander tries to play the devil's advocate but sees from the look on Buffy's face he's failing miserably. "Well ok we'll come with you but don't be surprised when Giles tells you the same thing. Just with more complicated words." smiling Xander stands up and watches Buffy turn around and walk straight into someone.

"Ford?" Buffy looks up at the face. "Ford? God what are you doing here? The last time I saw you was back at Hemery." hugging the new arrival Buffy turns to Xander and Willow.

"Guys this is..."

"Ford, Right?" Xander quipped holding his hand out to shake Fords. "Kinda got your name from somewhere." Grinning he moved his other hand up and stopped Buffy from swatting him without even looking.

"Buffy no fair trying to hit me from behind." he quipped now looking at the slayer, completely missing the look of puzzlement and astonishment that passed over Fords face before being hidden again.

"So what you doing here Ford? It's not exactly like Sunnydale's the center of excitement or anything." Buffy sat down again, the meeting with Giles completely forgotten.

Leaning up against a post watching Buffy, Ford smiles. "Matriculating. My dad got a job over here so I'm finishing up my senior year here. Didn't expect to see you here though. The last time I saw you was the swimsuit competition over the summer. You were dating... Pike wasn't it?"

Jumping up Buffy quickly swatted Ford on the chest.

"Hey watch it summers. I know all your secrets." Smiling at Buffy he softly rubbed when she had hit him.

"Care to place a bet on that?" Xander quipped. During the entire time he had been here Xander hadn't been able to take his eyes off Ford. There was something wrong with him. But damned if Xander could place what it was. It was like his energy was incomplete, or was missing bits.

Xander had been experimenting with the energy fields around people and was beginning to understand it. It was more than their 'life energy', it was more like their potential.

Buffy's was pure green, and pretty aggressive looking. The energy leaked out all over the place. He'd seen it somewhere before but couldn't place it so he just filed it under slayer energy.

Giles was blueish white with some dark streaks though. Most people's were blue or while. He guessed that's what normal people's energy looked like.

Willows was pretty much the same but the dark streaks were more prominent in her. He didn't know what the dark streaks were yet. He was going to ask Giles at some point to see if was anything like reading auras but he just hadn't got around to it yet.

The computer teacher, Ms. Calendar. Hers was the weirdest it had seen so far it was bright yellow. So bright he's had to over his eyes when he'd first looked at it. But she had the same dark streaks running through it. So far he'd only seen these streaks in Giles, Willow and Ms Calendar. Admittedly he hadn't been going round the entire school looking for them but out of the few people he had looked at these were the only people with them.

Fords was different. His was blue. Quite a dark blue in contrast to Giles but there were bits missing. Like it was incomplete. This puzzled Xander. How could anyone have incomplete life energy? Perhaps he'd got it wrong. He'd have to do more research before saying anything to anyone anyway.

"We're all heading to the bronze tonight Ford. Want to come along?" Buffy asked picking up her bag again ready for class.

"Might be there Summers. If I can make it I'll see you there ok?" With that Ford left the group and disappeared into the crowd of teenagers.

"So buff. What's the swimsuit competition I hear about?" Wiggling his eyebrows like Groucho Marx Xander stood up.

"Nothing Xander, and if I ever hear about it again I'll make you eat your eyebrows." Buffy mock threatened, starting the walk to the library.

"And who's this Pike? What sort of a name is Pike anyway? Isn't that a fish?" Xander's questions got no response as he followed her to the library.

"Ahh Buffy, Xander good. Your here."

"Yes Giles, we are. Kind of you to notice." Buffy commented before slumping down in a seat.

"Come on Buffy, perhaps they were just talking." Willow tried to reassure her friend.

"Willow I know what I saw, and it wasn't talking."

Giles turned to Xander. "May I ask what are they talking about?"

"Ahh, Buffy saw Angel kissing another woman last night Giles. She's a little upset about it."

"Well has it occurred to her that they might have just been friends or something?" Giles started polishing his glasses trying not to pay attention to the conversation the two girls were having.

"That's what I tried to tell her. But does she pay attention? No. It's like talking to one of my constructs Giles. Might get more sense out of them anyway." grinning Xander created a quick construct of a playboy model and started talking to it animatedly.

"Xander may I remind you that school is still in session. Students may come in here at any time and see that... thing."

Waving the construct away Xander laughed. "Students in here? For what?"

Without waiting for an answer he wandered over to where the girls were sat now glaring at him.

"What?" he asked before getting a slap from both Willow and Buffy of the chest.

"Ow! Now what was that for?"

"You know perfectly well mister." Willow said looking hurt.

"Oh before I forget Buffy I've got something to show you." Xander said hopping up on the table.

"Oh, presents? Jewelry?" Buffy asked smiling again.

Hmm Xander filed away the thought in his mind. Rings were awfully important but he'd have to get them right and it would take a lot of his power to create a permanent one.

"Nope Buffster. Weaponry." With a wave of his hand a crossbow appeared on the table looking like nothing Giles or Buffy had ever seen.

"May I?" Giles asked picking up the construct. "It feels real Xander. Weight and everything, I must say you have come a long way from the prop guns you first started creating."

"Well a gun's still a long way off G-man but I got the idea for this little puppy watching a movie last night. That Van Hellsing flick. A bit of the mark, but it had some good ideas. Look."

Retrieving the crossbow from Giles he quickly took aim at the wall and squeezed the trigger letting fly a swarm of little darts that impacted the wall.

"Well that does look useful but isn't it just a construct like the sword and the prop guns?"

"yeah, it is just a construct Giles but I've made the ammunition for this have the same properties as wood. I don't know how effective it will be against vamps but it should at least hurt them if it doesn't dust them," making the crossbow disappear he looked back at Buffy. "I just wanted to show you that I've got weapons down now. So I'm like a walking armory for you now. I've got a plan for something a bit more permanent that the constructs I'm using at the moment but for now any time I'm out patrolling with you. You just name the weapon and you'll have it ok?" seeing Buffy's grin Giles immediately intervened.

"This does not mean however that you neglect your training or exercise. Just because you now have Xander and his powers with you, does not mean you should get sloppy with any of the techniques I've shown you so far."

"I get it Giles. Continue training as if nothing has changed. But when we're out on patrol can I play with the new toys then?" pouting up at her watcher he quickly relented.

"Yes you can use them then. But I don't want you to rely on them too much. You still have slayer strength and speed for your advantage. We don't want you getting sloppy do we?" looking at his slayers happy face he decided to change the subject quickly before Xander had any more ideas about what he could provide for the slayer. "you were talking about training with Willow last night? I assume by that you meant keeping her up to speed with her new athletic prowess?" Giles asked looking at the girls.

"Well... nope not really." Buffy replied looking a bit nervous. "You see Willow wanted to learn a bit more about the character she became during Halloween so we went down to that comic shop in town and picked up a load of Batgirl comics. One of which contained her origin in it."

Seeing the worried look on Giles face Willow took over quickly.

"Well you see Giles, Batgirl, or the Batgirl I went as. Her name was Cassandra Cain, she was trained to be an assassin by the best in the world. She ran away from her father after he trained her because his training methods were... well they were a bit weird to say the least. But the short story is the reason she was a mute is because she couldn't talk. No that didn't come out right."

Pausing for a minute, Willow tried to get the story straight.

"The way she was trained was a language of the body, not words. She could read you during a fight and anticipate your next move automatically. But this training took over the language center of her brain so she couldn't speak."

Smiling now she had got that right.

"Look it might be better if we showed you. Buffy?"

Giles watched on at the two girls moved over to the center of the library when they stood opposite each other and bowed.

"Now hold on. You can't possibly mean that you retained this ability Willow?" Giles stood up meaning to stop this before Willow got hurt.

To his amazement Willow just grinned at him and stood waiting for Buffy to attack her, she didn't wait long at Buffy launched herself at her opponent at full slayer speed.

Time slowed for Giles. Xander just stood up instantly at the ready to put a shield between the two girls. He needn't have bothered as Willow easily sidestepped the attack bringing her elbow down on Buffy's back sending her sprawling onto the floor behind her.

Buffy quickly jumped back up and attacked again. Each punch from Buffy was effortlessly deflected, each kick was quickly avoided. Willow herself couldn't land an attack on Buffy but the same applied for Buffy. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't touch Willow.

The fight was brought to a swift conclusion when Xander decided he had had enough of seeing his two best friends trying to pummel each other and restrained them both with emerald energy shields.

Giles just walked up to the girls and looked at Willow in astonishment.

"You mean to say you can... read her moves? Before she even makes them herself? Xander, I don't think it's necessary to hold them. It was just sparring."

Xander just waved his hand in response letting the two girls go. "It may have been sparring but Willow could have been hurt. And more to the point if you two are going to fight again, can it be wearing bikinis and in a pool?" Xander grinned at the girls

Shaking his head Giles continued.

"You're fighting style was highly impressive Willow. But if you are as good as you say why could you not fight back against Buffy?" Giles asked looking at the redhead.

"Well it's like I can read her body and blocks the attacks, but I don't know the first thing about fighting Giles. I wanted Buffy to train me so I could fight back otherwise I'd just be there avoiding punches and kicks all night."

"Well yes I can see where that would be an advantage," Giles relented sitting down. "now why don't the three of you get to class and we'll talk about this later ok?"

"Ok g-man" Xander stood up and walked to the door

"Oh we're going to the Bronze tonight Giles. I'll swing through and do a quick patrol with Xander before he head there ok?" Buffy asked not waiting for a reply as the three headed out the door.

"Teenagers" Giles muttered to himself as he made his way into the office for a fresh cup of tea. The kettle was just about boiled when he heard the doors to the library swing again.

Walking out to the main area Giles was pleasantly surprised to see the computer science teacher Ms Calendar stood there.

"Mr. Giles. I was wondering if we could have a talk." Jenny asked walking round the counter into the office.

"By all Means Ms Calendar please come in. Would you like a cup of tea?" Giles politely asked moving to get a fresh cup.

"Please that would be nice. And please call me Jenny." closing the door to the office Jenny sat down and waited for Mr. Giles to finish the tea.

The rest of the day and the following patrol were quite boring. The patrol had gone quite well. Xander and Buffy had surprised a few vampires feasting and had quickly dispatched them using Xander's new weapon.

To Xander's surprise it worked perfectly well, dusting vampires as soon as one of the bolts caught a vampire's heart.

Xander quickly refined the weapon affectively giving the weapon infinite ammunition so he didn't have to keep creating new constructs when one ran out.

Approaching the Bronze, Xander got rid of the construct and followed Buffy into the club looking for Willow.

"Over here guys." Xander soon spotted Willow waving her hand over by the pool table. She was wearing an attractive skirt and top. The Batgirl possession must have done wonders for her self confidence Xander mused to himself as he made his way over to her.

"Hey Buffy. How did patrol go?"

"Willow, keep it quiet will you. I don't want the entire club to know," Buffy smiled at her friend seeing the crestfallen look on her face. "it went well Willow. Xander's new toy worked a treat."

Smiling Willow watched Xander walk over to the bar to get a round of sodas.

"Did he talk about me at all Buffy?"

"Sorry will's. We were too busy dusting vamps to do much talking." the lie slid easily of Buffy's tongue. They'd talked about lots of things but not once had Xander mentioned Willow.

"And where did you get those clothes? If you want Xander to notice you that's the way to go about it." Buffy smiled looking at Willows new outfit.

Willow just blushed watching Xander come back from the bar.

"Come on buff. How about a game of pool? Put your reflexes to the test against the mighty ION." Xander quipped putting the drinks down and striking his hero pose.

Laughing Buffy stood up. "Ok mister hero, but you're paying."

"Drats, foiled again" Xander quipped snapping his fingers dramatically but moving over to the pool table and setting up the balls anyway.

"Ford!" Buffy grinned and walked over. Seeing her old friend always brought a smile to her face.

"Summers. I hoped you'd be here. Mind if I join you?" Ford asked motioning to the pool table.

"Sure, how about me and you take Xander and Willow?"

"Sounds good to me." Ford replied picking up a cue and chalking the end.

The game passed quite quickly with Xander performing shots that shouldn't have been possible. Quite soon he was five balls ahead.

"Xander," Willow whisper in his ear. "no cheating."

At that Xander just turned to her letting the power shine through his eyes again.

Willow loved it when he did that. The smile and the eye thing just turned her legs to jelly,

"Excuse me. I've got to... you know." with that Willow blushed and moved away towards the toilets.

"Angel." Buffy exclaimed. Placing her cue on the table and moving away towards the vampire.

"That her boyfriend? Kinda old" Ford commented sinking another ball.

"You're not wrong." Xander quipped back moving away so Ford could take another shot.

A few minutes later Buffy returned, looking slightly put out.

"He says he wasn't out last night. That he stayed in all night." Buffy pouted at Xander.

"He might have had a reason to lie. And besides..." he motioned to the couple leaving the club. "I think works calling."

"You stay here with Ford Xander. I'll take care of it and be back in a minute." Buffy quickly moved through the crowd to the doors and made her way outside.

"Willow, you ok?" Xander spotted his friend coming back through the crowd.

"Thanks Xander. Yeah the Soda just made me feel a bit queasy that's all. Must have drunk it too fast or something," Willow quickly lied. "where did Buffy go? And Ford?"

Quickly looking round Xander saw Ford making his way out the same doors as Buffy had a few moments before.

"Oh crap." Xander muttered starting to move through the crowd with Willow in tow.

* * *

Outside.

Buffy staked the last vamp and was in the process of helping the young woman up when she spotted Ford.

"There you go. Go home now and try to stay to well lit areas." she told you girl letting her scamper off down the street.

"Uh. Ford this isn't what it looks like." she started.

"So that wasn't you dusting a vampire?" Ford quipped, much like Xander.

"What do you know?" she asked spotting Xander and Willow behind him and nodding to them discreetly to make their way home. She'd handle this alone. No sense risking Xander and Willow's secret's as well as her own.

* * *

The following day Buffy met Willow in the library while Xander and Giles were in the stacks looking for books on aura reading.

"You mean he just came out and told you?" Willow asked.

"Yeah. He said he found out about me being the slayer just before I got kicked out of Hemery," Buffy was lazing in one of the chairs looking at Willow. "but it's kinda cool. You know... not having to be secret identity girl around him."

"Well yeah. I suppose." Well if Buffy is with Ford, then I can have Xander all to myself. Willow added silently

"Well it doesn't sound like you're reading their aura's Xander," Giles commented as they came out of the stacks with armfuls of books each. "in fact I don't know what it sounds like to be perfectly honest. You say most are the same but you have come across a few that are different from the rest?"

"Yeah. It's like yours, Willow's and Ms C's. They all have these dark bits running through them. Well yours and Willow's are blue with dark bits, Ms C's is yellow. Almost golden"

"Well that doesn't sound like anything I'm familiar with at all. Do you know what these 'dark' threads of energy are?"

"Nah, can't really identify them yet." Placing his pile of books on the desk Xander turned to Buffy.

"So how about it Buffster? Do a quick patrol tonight and try out some new toys?" Xander looked at Buffy trying to lift her spirits as she was still moping over the whole Angel thing.

"Nah sorry Xand. I'm heading to Angel's tonight. He said there was something he wanted to speak to me about. Besides I'm sure you can patrol on your own. You're the great and powerful ION remember?" she said jokingly.

"Suppose I could do a quick sweep. And yes Giles I'll be careful," he added cutting Giles off. "besides it's not like anything can happen to me is it?"

"Oh and that reminds me." walking over behind Xander Buffy rolled up a magazine and swotted him round the head with it.

"Hey! What's that for buff?"

"Cheating at pool last night. Don't think I didn't see those little green disks pushing the balls about. Slayer sight remember?" Laughing she picked up her bag and started towards the doors for her next class.

"Will's ya coming?"

"Sorry Buffy. Must have zoned out or something." Picking up her bag Willow quickly followed Buffy out of the library. To be honest she'd been paying too much attention to the way Xander looked in the tight jeans he was wearing today to concentrate on anything else.

"Well that leaves just me and you G-man and I'm of a free period so I'm going to sneak up to the school roof and practice some of that meditation you taught me. Don't want to do it here in case I start glowing when people are around"

Xander quickly picked up his bags and fled the library as well before Giles asked him to help with any research.

"Ahh, peace and quiet at last." Giles muttered to himself before going into the office for a cup of tea and his lunch.

* * *

Later that night.

"Willow you there?" Angel knocked on Willow's bedroom window trying to get her attention.

"Angel! What are you doing here?" Willow almost screamed in shock jumping up quickly to put on her dressing gown and opening the window.

"Willow, I need a favor," Angel asked stepping in the room. "I need you to look someone up on the 'net for me."

"Oh, ok I can do that. Who do you want me to look up?" Willow asked suddenly much more at ease with the subject of research.

"Billy Fordham." Angel tensed waiting for the reply.

"Well it looks like dead boy had the same misgiving I did about Ford." Xander said standing in the window causing Angel to whirl his head around.

"How'd you do that? Slayer been training you boy?" Angel asked Xander who just grinned, obviously amused at being able to put Angel off his game now

"Look guys. Are you sure this isn't just a male jealousy thing?" Willow asked.

"No." and "Nope." came the reply's

"Well if it's something that both you and Angel agree on Xander then it must be big." Willow grinned to herself.

"Willow are you in bed yet? It's nearly sleep time." a voice carried into the room from downstairs.

"Not yet mum. I'll be ready soon," Willow shouted back through the door. "look you two, I'll have a look tomorrow. But you've both got to go now. I'm not allowed boy's in my room and if my mom catches you here I'll be in trouble so... well go on go." Willow said standing up and ushering Angel out of the room.

"Ok I'll go. But promise me you'll look into it for me?" Angel asked before slipping out the window silently.

"Yes I'll look into it. Now go."

"Hey where'd dweeb boy go?" Angel muttered to himself as he walked away

"Right here captain forehead." came the reply from behind him. Spinning round Angel came face to face with Xander stood less than two feet behind him.

"Look I don't have time for games ok Angel? Now this is the first time I'll say it but I need your help. I followed Ford to this club last night and... well it's not a decent sort of club if you get what I mean." Xander said keeping a straight face.

"What? You mean he went to a bondage and S&M Club?" Angel deadpanned back as they started walking back into town.

"More like a 'I want to be a vampire' kinda club. Filled with wannabe's. Most dressed like Dracula." Xander grinned imagining Angel dressing up like Dracula. Only force of will stopped him from creating the construct there and then.

"I know the kind. Didn't think there were any in Sunnydale though." Angel said now looking worried.

"Well there is now. Called The Sunset Club, just of main street by the Overcliffe. Didn't have a sign or anything so I guess it's invite only, wait a minute aren't you supposed to be with Buffy tonight?" Xander asked stopping suddenly.

"Yeah she came round. We talked then she said she was going to a club with Ford. Something about catching up." Angel said looking worried again.

"He wouldn't. He knows about her being the slayer. He wouldn't take her to this club would he?" Xander said, starting to jog down the street to the club he followed Ford to.

"I don't know. Look you go to the club and stay out of sight. Wait there. I'm going to see if Buffy's at home, then I'll meet you there ok?" Angel ordered as he took off in the other direction at full speed.

"Yeah, right." Xander muttered to himself as he willed the change into his 'work clothes' as he liked to call them before taking off and flying towards to club at full speed surrounded by a green light.

"Xander I mean it. Stay out of..." Angel stopped and looked round. Xander was nowhere in sight. He fancied he saw a bright flash of green disappearing behind one of the houses but quickly dismissed the thought and started running again towards Buffy's house.

* * *

The Sunset Club.

Xander set down in an alleyway behind the club and changed back into his normal clothes. Walking round to the entrance he rapped shortly on the door.

"Password." Came the reply from behind the door.

"Huh, Mxyzptlk?" Xander quipped before letting lose a blast of emerald energy blowing the door clean off its hinges. "Guess so." Xander muttered walking though the threshold noticing the vampire on the floor now pinned by the steel door with a cigarette still smoking in his mouth.

"You know you shouldn't smoke. Those things will kill you." Creating a sword he quickly took the vampires head before starting off along the corridor to the sounds of scream's

Two more vampires were quickly dispatched outside another welded steel door to what looked like the main club.

Changing into his 'work clothes' again he quickly created a construct of a muscle bound wrestler and watched as the construct ripped the door off its hinges before disappearing again.

Walking into the club Xander immediately identified doue vampires, including Spike and Dru. Along with Buffy, Ford and about twenty or so other Vampire wannabe's who were all looking at him now.

Glowing green again and floating down to the main level Xander just looked at Spike. "Have we met before? Cause you look like this really bad punk singer from back in the 80's." Xander just quipped causing a smile from Buffy.

"Who the bloody hell are you supposed to be?" Spike snarled at him.

"I'm the ION." Xander just quipped back.

"Spikey. Make him stop. He's making all noises in my head. Please let's go. The stars are saying he's powerful, more than the slayer, more that the guardians."

"Dru, what the hell are you on about? And who the hell are the guardians?" Spike snarled looking round at Dru.

"Buffy, need a Hand?" Xander asked looking over to see her holding Ford by the neck.

"Nah thanks. I've got this one covered. Why don't you get people out?"

"Done." Xander snapped his fingers and relocated everyone outside but the vamps, Buffy, Ford and himself.

"Hmm, didn't think that would work." Xander muttered

"Now, what should we do about him?" Buffy asked.

"Look. I'm dying. Buffy, I don't want to die." Ford started wailing almost pitifully. "He said if I gave them you then he would turn me into one of them. One of the immortals," Ford looked over at Xander with tears in his eyes. "I just want to live. Is that wrong?"

"No it's not wrong." Xander answered. "But buying life with the life of someone else, someone you said you cared about is." Xander knew he should hate this man. Trying to buy off death with Buffy's life but for some reason he couldn't find it in himself to hate him.

"Can you…" Buffy trailed off the question looking at Xander.

"No Buffy. There are some things even I don't have power over, one of those is life and death." Xander saw the pity in her eyes.

"Come on. Let's go." Xander walked over to the slayer and started to walk towards the stairs.

"You get a free pass tonight spike, but if I ever see you in this town again I'm going to personally incinerate you, and that peroxide hair of yours." Xander shouted at spike walking up the stairs and out of the club.

* * *

3 Days Later.

"Buffy are you sure you can do this?" Xander asked looking over at the gravestone that marked 'Billy Fordham. 1981 – 1998.'

"I have to do it Xander. All he wanted was to live. He doesn't know that as a vampire it won't be him, just another demon walking the world in his body. That's not the life Ford would have wanted."

The vampire that was Billy Fordham rose a few minutes later and was quickly staked by the slayer before even taking its first step.

"Do you think it ever gets easier Xander?"

"I don't know Buffy. I just don't know."

With that Xander and Buffy walked out of the graveyard in silence.

* * *

AN: ok bit of a sad ending but I didn't want to use Giles and Buffy on the gravestone as the episode ended or I might have well just copied the end transcript word for word.  
Hope people enjoyed it. Anyone spot the DC character reference?  
Any guesses as to who Supergirl is yet?

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and hope to see you again tomorrow night for more of the same.


	7. Chapter 7

**chapter seven**

TITLE: The Power of XION  
AUTHOR: Methos if ya want to host it somewhere else just tell me where ya putting it ok? ;)  
DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Green Lantern, ION, Batgirl and any other mentions of DC characters belong to DC Comics ok? I own nothing ;)  
SUMMARY: On Halloween Ethan's little costume stunt may have changed the future more that he knows. And created something completely new in this dimension.  
FEEDBACK: love it :) my first fanfic and so many reviews already :) more please lol  
RELATIONSHIPS: None as yes, copious amounts of flirting yes but no relationships planned.  
RATING: FR18  
SPOILERS: Anything from the Halloween episode onwards. I plan on taking the story through to the bitter end of Buffy. Changing a few things along the way of course ;)

AN: well other than a few (ahem) grammatical errors I'm quite happy with this fic so far.  
Thanks to Demona for helping me through a lot of them.  
Hope you're all this enjoying this and here's the next chapter/episode for you.  
Enjoy :)

M

* * *

Hurrying across the Sunnydale high school parking lot the man nervously glances around him. Stopping for only a brief moment to make sure he hasn't been followed before running off again towards the building in the distance.

Seeing the building he quickly looks for a door inside hoping for safety and sanctuary. A door, hopefully unlocked. He runs over to it. Pulling on the handle to find it's locked he started banging on the door yelling for anyone to hear him.

"Please, you've got to let me in. I need to speak to Rupert Giles." Banging on the door again before seeing the shadow pass over him.

Turning round he sees the thing he'd been running from all this time. The screams of the man echo through the night. No one comes to rescue him.

Once the man is dead the murderer collapses. Dissolving into a puddle on blueish green ooze.

* * *

The following day.

"Well Buffy, Tonight is the monthly delivery at the hospital. They are in need of these blood packets and I want you to make sure that they arrive unmolested by vampires." Looking at Buffy exercising on the mat.

"Yeah I get it Giles. Make sure the doctors get the blood and dust any vamp's who try anything. I got it," continuing with her exercises she quickly glances up at Xander who is sat at the table sketching again. "Xander, what ya drawing this time?"

Glancing down at his pad Xander grinned. "Oh nothing Buffy. Just some doodles." He quickly puts his sketch pad away. He'd been drawing Buffy staking Angel, one of his favourite subjects but he didn't think Buffy would see the humour in it.

"So Xander, you going to join me in this patrol tonight? Make sure the blood get's to the doctor's ok?"

"Nah, sorry buff but I've been making some headway with my powers. Last week I managed to get a construct to move and rip a door apart. Not quite sure how I managed it but I seem to be getting a better grip on them now. Like how I got everyone outside the club? I didn't think about how I was going to do it. I just did it and that seems to be the key. Not thinking too much." Grinning Xander looked over at Buffy who was now stretching her body in ways that Xander could find much better uses for than gymnastics.

"Ok Xand. Well you shouldn't have much trouble then if the way forward is not thinking." Smiling she stood back up and walked over to get the towel and juice off the table.

"Hah hah buff. Nice to know I'm appreciated," Smiling through the retort Xander stood up. "Well I'd better be off. I'll do a quick sweep of the graveyards tonight while you're dealing with the hospital if it makes you feel any better?" At Buffy's nod he smiled. 'So I guess I am appreciated after all' he thought to himself

"Well see ya later buff, you too G-man." With that Xander left the library and started to make his was home passing Ms. Calendar in the halls on his way out of the building.

"Xander? What are you doing here so late? School finished hour's ago." She asked. It was well known Xander didn't like school and always seemed to be the first one out of class rooms. It wasn't like him to be hanging around school after hours.

"Just helping Giles with some books Ms C. All finished now so I'm heading home. See you tomorrow?"

"Yes I'll see you tomorrow Xander. Is Mr Giles still there? I needed to talk with him about something."

Quickly coming up with an explanation for Buffy's presence still in the library he smiled back at the teacher. "Yeah he's still there. He's got Buffy helping him with some filing. A punishment from the Principal for something or another, though knowing Buffy's filing systems a punishment for Giles is more like it."

Smiling Ms. Calendar continued down the hall to the library as Xander went round the corner to the back entrance of the school, the front entrance being locked at this time of night.

Entering the library she saw Mr. Giles and Buffy looking through a book of some sort on the table with numerous other books lying around them.

"You know Mr. Giles if you had all these on computer then it wouldn't take you have as long to find anything," Smiling at Mr. Giles she walked over to the table. "Buffy, anything I can help with?"

"Nope, just finishing up here. Found some old books and I didn't know where they went so I asked Giles and he started talking about making sure I treat the books properly and where they belong."

Interrupting Buffy before she dug herself any deeper Giles cleared his throat. "What can I do for you Jenny?"

Before jenny had a chance to explain Xander burst back into the room. "Ah... Giles can I show you something?" Seeing Giles bemused expression he continued. "It's something of a 'green' nature." He said vaguely hoping Giles would put two and two together.

"Ah. Ok Xander. Jenny if you would just wait here I won't be a second," Moving over to Xander he quietly asked "what's wrong? And start looking before you enter room's anyone could have been in here."

"OK I get it, but there's something outside, or rather there was something outside but now all I can see is the energy of what was out there. It looks like there was a puddle on the ground Giles, but it's not there anymore. The energy of it is... and Giles it's the same energy vampire's have. Like death or something."

"Well since it's not there anymore there isn't much we can do about it. You say it's the same energy as vampire's have? Well it doesn't really narrow it down," taking his glasses off to polish them. "I don't know of any vampire's that turn into a 'puddle' as you say when staked. There are numerous demons that do though. Too many to count actually. This energy could have been there for months Xander, maybe years. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Smiling at Xander, Giles made his way back into the library.

"Well don't come to me when it's not. I warned you first." Xander muttered to himself as he made his was outside again carefully avoiding the patch of floor where this 'energy' was.

"Now Jenny what was it you needed to speak to me about?" Giles asked sitting down at the table and piling the books up that Buffy had left on the table.

"Look Giles, before you two get all teachery I'm going to go ok? I'll swing by... where you asked before I call it a night ok?" Smiling at Giles and Ms. Calendar before making her way to the doors and passing through them.

"Uh, Giles? I think these people want to speak to you?" Buffy came back into the library followed by several police officers.

"Mr. Giles? Rupert Giles?" the man at the front asked.

"Yes that's me. What's this about?"

"Can we talk in private please? This is a personal matter."

"Certainly. Buffy you can go now and Jenny if you wouldn't mind? I will speak to you tomorrow ok?" smiling at the teacher Giles watched her and Buffy leave the library.

"Now, Mr?" Giles asked the officer in charge waiting for a name.

"Jones, detective John Jones. I'm afraid we have some bad news for you Mr. Giles. Would you please come with us?" The detective asked politely as he motioned for Giles to follow them out of the library.

* * *

Summers residence

"I'm telling you Willow there were police there. They took Giles away for something."

"Well maybe they needed his help with something Buffy." The reply came over the phone.

"No Willow. It looked serious."

"Well I'm sure we'll find out Buffy. Besides aren't you meeting Giles to deal with that hospital delivery tonight?"

"Yeah, I'd better set off to meet him in a bit. Your right I'm sure it's nothing. Goodnight Willow."

"Night Buffy"

With that Buffy put the phone down and rolled over her bad to get ready for tonight. Picking up her stake and coat she quietly slipped out the window and down the tree. Looking around to make sure she hadn't been caught she then ran off down the street.

* * *

Later that night outside the hospital.

"Come on where is he?" Buffy asked herself as she waited for the van to arrive.

"Well here comes the blood," She noted as the van drove up to the hospital and two doctors came out of the door to take delivery of the cases. "Hang on a minute, since when do doctors take deliveries?" sensing something was wrong Buffy spring into action running up to the doctors who immediately slipped into their game face.

"Slayer." One of the vampire doctors hissed.

"Slayee." Buffy quipped back before staking him.

Hissing the other vampire ran off, only to be grabbed and staked by Angel as he rounded the corner.

"Buffy. I've been meaning to come and see you. Do you know anything about a 'Green Death' or something? It has all the vamp's running scared. Normally they would have attacked this delivery in force." Handing the stolen blood bag back to Buffy he waited for an explanation.

"Nope, nothing about a 'Green Death' Angel. Though I have noticed there aren't as many vamps as normal. I'll make sure the doctors get this," Taking the blood bag and placing back into the case with the others. "Oh and Angel, Angel?" she looked around but he was gone. "Humph. He could have at least stuck around to make sure everything was ok, and where is Giles?" Turning back to the hospital she picked up the case and carried it inside.

Back at the Summers residence.

* * *

"Giles? Where were you?" Asking down the phone Buffy tapped her foot waiting for a reply.

"Buffy? What's wrong?"

"You know. Hospital, Blood delivery. Ringing any bells here Giles?"

"I'm sorry Buffy I completely forgot. Are you hurt?"

"Well my feeling's a bit. Giles what's going on? What happened with those police earlier?"

"Buffy it's a private matter. Now if you're ok and everything went ok tonight then I will say goodnight and I will see you tomorrow," Putting down the phone Giles looked over to his glass of whiskey and in a fit of rage threw it against the wall smashing the glass.

Holding his arm out Giles looked at the tattoo on his wrist. "So your back are you."

The next day after school.

"He said he forgot Xander. Come on this is Giles who counts tardiness as the 9th deadly sin."

"Maybe he did forget Buff. Who don't we just go the library and ask him?" Xander replied looking towards the school.

"You might be right Xander. He just sounded weird on the phone. I just wanted to give him some space." Standing up Buffy looked over at Xander.

"I'm sure he's ok Buffy. He's Giles." Grinning Xander and Buffy made their way over to the school building.

"Giles? You in here?" Buffy called out on entering the library.

"G-man. You about?" Xander echoed her call.

"Shh." Buffy moved her hand to silence Xander and pointed to the other side of the stacks as she made her way up the stairs to her side.

Watching Buffy, Xander made his way quietly up the stairs and round the corner into the stacks when he heard Buffy throw someone to the ground.

"Well if it isn't Ethan Rayne. Looking for another beating?" Buffy threatened holding Ethan by the collar.

"Ethan," Xander said walking over. "Didn't think you'd show your face around here again? What are you doing here?"

"Snooping about." Ethan answered honestly.

"Wow, honesty. That's a new one." Buffy quipped still holding Ethan's collar.

"Well it's one of my virtues," Ethan said then seeming to think about what he had just said. "Well, not really."

"What are you doing here Ethan? And why shouldn't I punch your teeth so far down your throat." Buffy trailed off the threat.

"I came here to see an old friend of mine. Rupert Giles." Ethan said enjoying the look of confusion that passed the two teen's faces.

"You came here to see Giles? Why don't I believe you?" Xander was the first one to recover.

"Well why don't you ring old Ripper and find out?" Ethan said as he found himself being pulled upwards.

"I think we'll just do that," Buffy said dragging Ethan down the stairs and throwing him into a chair. "Xander, watch him please while I call Giles."

"Sure thing buff." Xander just sat next to Ethan not taking his eyes off him.

Recognizing him at last Ethan chuckled to himself. "Did you like the costume? Enjoy your night or don't you remember it?" Ethan asked Xander smiling to himself.

Xander just smiled and let the power leak out of his eyes making them shine an intense green. To his amusement Ethan just looked as if he wet himself. "Want to try running Ethan?" Xander just commented.

Looking at the floor Ethan just thought to himself that he was now well and truly buggered.

"Giles," Buffy said finally into the phone. "Where have you been I've been ringing for ages?"

"Buffy what is it?" A tired voice came back down the phone.

"Giles do you know an Ethan..." looking over at Ethan expectantly she waited for him to notice her.

"Rayne." He finally answered the unasked question never taking his eyes of Xander.

"Rayne, Ethan Rayne. You remember the costume shop guy?"

"Have you seen him Buffy? Is he back in town?" Giles asked frantically down the phone.

"Yeah he's right here Giles. He's sat in the library with me now."

"Buffy listen to me. You must get away from him. You're in great danger while you're with him."

"Giles chill. I'm here with Xander. I'm sure we can handle anything that costume guy here throws at us."

"Very well Buffy be careful. I'll be there shortly ok?" Hanging up the phone Giles raced outside and started his car up.

"Well he did say he knew you. Didn't say how though just that he was on his way here." Buffy finally said after staring at the phone for a while.

"What else Buffy?" Xander asked sensing a second comment coming from Buffy.

"He also said that we were in danger around you. Seemed very sure of that. Not in danger OF you. Danger of being  
AROUND you," Watching Ethan with renewed interest Buffy took a seat next to Xander and looked at the man. He looked as if he had wet himself. "Xander what did you do?"

"Nothing buff. He was just a little scared when he realized that I kept my powers from the Halloween night." Smiling Xander looked at Ethan.

"Yes well I didn't expect that. I suppose you have another member of your group as well now, a real 'Supergirl' I suppose." Chuckling to himself he missed the questioning looks of both Buffy and Xander.

Opening the library doors Ms. Calendar walked into the library seeing Buffy and Xander and a new man. "What's going on here you two? Schools been over for hours. And what's he doing here?" Jenny asked recognizing the man from the costume shop.

"It's a long story Ms. Calendar," Buffy started. "He claims to know Giles and what's happening round here."

"Where is Rupert anyway? Shouldn't he be here by now?" Jenny asked looking round the library.

"Giles is on his way. He said to keep watch over him until he got..." Buffy was broken off by the sound of glass smashing behind her. Twirling round to the sound she saw a man getting up from the floor covered in glass. "What the hell?" she exclaimed moving over to Xander's side.

"Oh bloody hell. Phillip," Ethan said standing up as well. "So it's just me and ripper now is it old friend? I'm sorry."

"What the hell is going on?" Buffy asked turning to Ethan.

"He's dead slayer," Ethan said. "and now he's after me and your watcher." Moving behind Buffy and Xander Ethan watched 'Phillip' stumble towards them.

"He's dead Buffy," Xander confirmed. "And he's got the same energy as the floor outside that I tried to tell Giles about the other night."

"Demon?" Buffy asked.

"Defiantly." Xander replied quickly. Looking round he spotted Willow and Ms. Calendar moving round behind the counter away from the action.

"Willow get Ms. Calendar to safety. Me and Buffy will handle this, and as for you." Xander quickly created a construct of a wrestler who picked up Ethan and carried him into Giles' office.

Looking at the display Jenny just stood there open mouthed. She knew Buffy was the slayer but she thought Xander was just a normal teenager.

"Ms. Calendar come on." Willow said tugging at the teachers arm. Quickly they both took off out of the library only to run into Giles round the corner.

"Willow what's going on?" Giles asked looking at Jenny and Willow's panicked state.

"Dead man, came through the window. Ethan said he's after him and you." Willow babbled out.

"Willow, get Jenny to safety. I'll take care of anything in here." Giles stated matter of factly as he stalked through towards the library stopping only for a second when a bright emerald flash shone out through the circular windows of the library doors.

Walking in through the doors Giles looked around. Buffy was stood there looking at a puddle on the ground and Xander was floating a good two feet off the ground shining with green power.

"Buffy, Xander are you two ok? Willow said something about a dead man." Giles asked looking round the library for any sign of the aforementioned corpse.

"We're good Giles. Buffy was hitting him but it didn't seem to have any effect so I sort of powered her up with some of my own energy, when she hit him then the guy just turned to goo." Xander explained.

"Uh yeah Giles." Buffy said walking over to Giles, wiping her hand on her pants as she walked.

"And Ethan? What happened to him?" Giles asked looking round the library a second time for his old friend.

"Oh he's in the office with a wrestler." Xander said off hand, sitting down.

"A what? Never mind," Giles muttered. "Can you just get rid of the wrestler so I can go in and talk to him?"

"Sure thing." Xander said waving his hand as Giles went over to his office.

"Bloody sneaky bastard," Xander heard the yell from the office. "He's gone out the window. He'll be long gone by now." Giles said emerging from the office.

"And speaking off long gone," Buffy started standing up. "Do you mind if I head off Giles? Having Xander do... whatever he did to me really wiped me out."

"No, go home and rest Buffy. I'll find Willow and Ms. Calendar to make sure they are ok." Giles said smiling at the slayer as she picked up her bag and walked out of the library.

"Xander you did well," Giles said sitting down next to the teenager. "You weren't to know he would escape out the window."

"I know Giles but there's something else Ethan said. He made it sound like we should have someone else with us. 'A real Supergirl' is what he said Giles. I think he meant someone else kept their powers after Halloween. Think about it Giles, somewhere out there is someone running round with power's equal to Superman."

Chuckling Giles looked at Xander. "Xander if there was someone flying round Sunnydale in a red cape and tights I think we would have heard about it by now don't you? It was probably Ethan just trying to put you off your guard to he could find a way of escape."

"I guess so Giles. I just don't want to think about it. I mean Superman is vulnerable to magic and I guess since vampire's are magical they could hurt someone with the same powers. Can you imagine that? A vampire with kryptonion power's?" Xander drifted off not wanting to think about the consequences that would have on the world.

"As I said I'm sure it's nothing, but if you're worried why don't you take another patrol tonight to make sure? Practice you're flying skills and see if anyone joins you up there?" Giles smiled to himself.

"Yeah I suppose Giles. Thanks for the talk anyway." Xander said picking up his bag and leaving. Maybe he would go flying tonight. It was the best of his abilities so far. Up there he felt truly free, as if nothing could touch him and bring him down.  
Deciding Giles was right Xander ran out of the school and after looking round to make sure no one was watching he changed into his 'work clothes' in a flash of green light and shot upwards into the night sky.

After doing a few circuits of Sunnydale and not finding anything Xander was about to go home when he noticed Buffy patrolling the streets near Giles' house. Flying down and changing into his normal clothes again he quickly caught up with her.

"Buff what's up? Buffy?" receiving no answer Xander put his hand on his friends shoulder. "Buffy? What's wrong?" reeling back in shock he looked at his friends face.

Her face was disfigured by blue and yellow colouring and her eyes were glowing a sickly yellow colour. "Buffy got to say not a good look on you." Xander quipped stepping back away from her.

Quickly encasing her in an emerald cage took off back into the night sky dragging the cage behind himself as he flew to Giles apartment.

Landing outside Xander quickly called for Giles. "Come quick Giles. Something's happened to Buffy."

Poking his head out of the flat windows Giles looked down at the sight in his garden. Xander was stood there with a glowing green cage behind him.

"Giles get down here. It's Buffy."

Giles quickly ran down the stairs and outside forgoing shoes or coat. Looking at the scene he could hardly believe it. Buffy was encased in the cage only she didn't look like Buffy anymore.

"Eyghon," Giles said looking at Buffy. "Xander can you restrain her but bring her inside?" Giles asked looking at him.

"Sure thing, can you help her Giles?" Xander looked at the watcher worriedly

"I'm not sure Xander. I'm not sure."

* * *

Inside Giles flat

"Giles come on, there must be something we can do for her." Xander asked looking at Buffy who was banging at the shield that surrounded her with all her strength.

"I don't know Xander. Eyghon should only be able to possess the dead or unconscious. I have no idea how he managed to possess Buffy or how your own powers might have affected it," Giles explained looking at the worried teen. "We will find a way to get Buffy back Xander. I promise you that." Moving over to the phone Giles phoned Willow.

"Yes?" a sleepy voice came back over the phone.

"Willow. We need your help. Something's happened to Buffy can you come round to my place please? And bring your laptop we need to do some research on this."

"Giles what's happened? If Buffy ok?"

"I don't know what's happened Willow. Can you please just come as soon as you can?"

"Sure thing Giles. I'll be there as soon as I can." Giles stood there listening to the dial tone for a few minutes before placing the phone back on the set.

"Willow will be here soon Xander. Hopefully between us we can figure out a way to get this thing out of Buffy between us."

"I hope so Giles because I don't know how much longer I can hold her for. Slayer strength and the demon are making a tough fight against my willpower." Xander just looked at his friend.

Giles could feel the power coming off Xander and filling the room like static electricity. The teen was glowing with power trying to keep Buffy in the cage and he could see the sweat beading on his forehead from concentration and effort at keeping the slayer/demon captured.

The two sat and watched the slayer try and break free for a while until the thing seemingly gave up and slumped to the floor. Eyes open watching them, it just lie there.

A knock at the door startled both Xander and Giles out of their concentration. Giles got up and moved over to answer the door found Willow and angel standing there.

"Willow. Angel I'm glad you came." Giles said gesturing for them to come in. Willow just walked in and saw Xander sat on the couch watching Buffy.

"I can't come in unless you invite me." Angel stated looking at Giles.

"I know. I just don't see what good you can do here." Giles stated honestly.

"I care about Buffy, and I want to do anything I can to help." Angel replied honestly waiting patiently.

"Just so you know the slayer isn't the only thing you have to fear in this house. Come in." Giles stepped away from the door allowing the vampire a wide birth as he entered the house.

"Willow, and you brought dead boy," Xander quipped standing up looking at the shocked look on Angels face. "What did you bring him for?"

"I found him following me here. He was supposed to meet Buffy and was worried about her. I had to tell him." Willow said bending down to look at the Buffy/demon.

"What is this?" angel asked looking at the green shield around Buffy. Reaching out he tentatively touched it.

"It's a shield Angel." Willow stated cutting off one of Xander's sarcastic retorts.

"Just so you know Angel, any funny business and you'll find yourself dusted quicker than you can say 'Mxyzptlk' ok?" angel found himself looking into the boys eyes. Only they weren't funny anymore. They were glowing green and spoke of his death.  
Averting his gaze from Xander's eyes he looked at Buffy. "Eyghon. How did this happen? Watcher?"

"Well Angel..." Giles started only to be cut off by Xander.

"Look who cares how it got here or what it wants. All I want to know is how to get it out of Buffy before it kills her."  
Everyone looked at Xander who was now standing in the middle of the room glowing with green energy.

"Xander calm down I think I've got something here, look. Eyghon possesses dead on unconscious bodies to use for his own ends as he can't exist normally in this dimension."

"So?" Xander just looked as if he'd missed the point entirely.

"Look Buffy is alive and she's putting up a struggle for Eyghon or it would have been able to take her over completely. Eyghon needs a dead or unconscious body to survive."

"Great Will's. I'll just fly on over to the graveyard and pick up a dead body for it to inhabit then I'll kill that." Xander smiled moving over to the door.

"You don't get it Xander we need to kill it completely. Not just let it jump from body to body and I think I've found a way. We need to convince it to jump into Angel. He's already got a demon inside so the process should kill it."

"And if it doesn't then I get to kill Angel. Willow a plan with no drawbacks. Love it" Xander said smiling as he moved over and kissed Willow on the forehead.

"Come on dead boy. Let's get you possessed." Xander grinned as he engulfed angel in a shield as well then merging the two he allowed Eyghon to attack Angel." Well if nothing else it's better than cable." He quipped watching Eyghon in Buffy's form beat Angel about inside the shield until angel got the upper hand and knocked Buffy back into the shield hard rendering her unconscious.

As they all watched a blue green ooze dripped out of Buffy and onto the floor making its way towards angel. When it touched his shoe angel shook like he's just received an electric shock.

"Well I guess its truth time gang." Xander muttered looking on as angel's face morphed between his normal, vampire and Eyghon features before settling down to his normal face again.

"Angel are you ok?" Willow asked moving over to the shield. "Xander lower the shield so I can get to him and Buffy."

"No way. Not until I know that's dead boy and not Eyghon." Xander said sealing of the shield in between the two and dissolving it around Buffy's unconscious body.

"It's me Xander." Angel said glaring at him

"And how do I know that? You could be Eyghon pretending to be the king of brooding."

"Look boy. It's me. Now let me out of here so I can help Buffy." Angel snarled through the shield.

"Well it's defiantly dead boy." Xander grinned looking round the room. "But I don't think you're needed here anymore." With a flick of his hand Angels form Glowed green then disappeared.

"What did you do with him Xander?" Giles asked coming up behind him.

"Just sent him away. Don't worry dead boy's still alive, or un dead. Now can we get Buffy to hospital? The bones in her hand don't look right after punching against my shields all night."

"Very well Xander. Would you like to take her or shall I?" Giles asked motioning towards the door.

"You take her Giles, I'm Going to do one last patrol before I call it a night ok?" Xander made his way to the garden and then changing into his 'work clothes' again he took off into the sky in a glow of green light.

* * *

The next day at school.

"How's the arm Buffy?" Xander asked sitting down next to her in the library.

"It'll be fine thanks Xander. Slayer healing and all that. Just need to rest it for a few days," Smiling over at him. "Giles tells me I have you to thank for the bruising and damage."

"Well yeah. I had to restrain you or you would have hurt Giles or someone else."

"Yeah I suppose," Buffy smiled looking over at Giles. "I think he took this worse than any of us. God knows how this would have played out if you hadn't have been there, or if you didn't have your powers."

"I know Buffy. But it didn't and we're all ok." Smiling over at her reassuringly he patted her shoulder before standing up and leaving the library.

Walking over to Giles Buffy hopped up onto the counter and looked at him. "So, what do you think happened to Ethan?"

"He's probably moved on by now. Now that he knows that Xander kept his power's he'll think twice about coming back to Sunnydale."

"Giles this wasn't your fault. How were you to know that something you did, like a zillion years ago would come back and try and kill us," Smiling Buffy grinned down at her watcher. "Besides it's kind of nice. Knowing that you make mistakes just like us, Makes you seem almost human."

"Well yes Buffy. You'd be surprised but most grown up's are human and make mistakes of their own from time to time."

Smiling at his slayer he moved off into his office and picked up the telephone as Buffy left the library.

"Hello, Jenny. There was something you wanted to speak to me about. Yes I'm free tonight. Certainly come around about eight. Yes that would be perfect." Giles replaced the handset and smiled. He might finally get the dinner with Jenny that they had been planning for a few weeks now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

TITLE: The Power of XION  
AUTHOR: Methos if ya want to host it somewhere else just tell me where ya putting it ok? ;)  
DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Green Lantern, ION, Batgirl and any other mentions of DC characters belong to DC Comics ok? I own nothing ;)  
SUMMARY: On Halloween Ethan's little costume stunt may have changed the future more that he know. and created something completely new in this dimension.  
FEEDBACK: love it :) my first fanfic and so many reviews already :) more please lol  
RELATIONSHIPS: None as yet, copious amounts of flirting yes but no relationships planned.  
RATING: FR18  
SPOILERS: Anything from the Halloween episode onwards. I plan on taking the story through to the bitter end of Buffy. Changing a few things along the way of course ;)

AN: I took a few liberties with the "Whats my line" episode cannon as I needed to have a few things found and made aware of that couldn't have been done if I'd stuck with my origonal plan so if anyone spots any glaring errors please let me know and I'll fix them asap ok?  
On with the story :)

M

* * *

What's my line? Part 1

"Come on ladies, its career week. Curious to find out what sort of jobs your future could hold?" Xander asks, following Buffy and Willow through the school to the cafeteria.  
Picking up his career quiz Xander starts reading aloud. "Are you a people person, or do you prefer keeping your own company? Tick. Defiantly a people person. Do I look like some sort of friendless looser?" Xander asks no one in particular and isn't ready for the response.

"Well your clothing tastes have picked up, but you're still a looser Xander." Came the reply from behind him.

"Cordelia, What do I owe the pleasure?" Xander asked turning round to face the voice. He'd been dressing a little different since Halloween. His loud shirts were gone and replaced by a black vest top that showed off his new muscles with a green shirt undone over the top.

"I just came to find out why you and slay girl over there are even bothering with this. Shouldn't you just go down to the local burger stand and hand in your applications now? That way you won't have to wait until you graduate to get a sucky job." Smiling Cordelia turned and started to walk away but as she took her first step something lifted her leg of the floor and twisted causing her to fall to the floor in an undignified heap.

"Xander." Buffy whispered in his ear.

"What? No one saw anything. It was just a form of karmic payback." Grinning Xander stood up and followed by the two girls made his way outside leaving Cordelia on the floor screaming to anyone that would listen.

"Come on guys. It's a good time. Let's you see what time of life you could have after high school." Willow smiled sitting down on the grass.

"Do I like shrubs?" Buffy asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" was Xander's as always eloquent response.

"Do I like shrubs?" Buffy repeated.

"Dunno. I kinda go for shrubs. They're not a big as bushes to vamp's can't hind in them." Xander quipped watching Buffy's horrified face.

"Xander! We don't want the entire school finding out about vampires do we? Keep it down." Buffy scolded him.

Grinning back Xander looked over to see Principal Snyder moving through the campus. "Oi! Snyder." Xander yelled out, "You dress yourself today or did you let your little sister do it for you?"

Before he could get another quip out he was pushed to the floor by Buffy who was looking at him as if he had gone mad. "Xander, What do you think you're doing? Trying to get expelled?"

"It's cool Buffy. I'm blocking the sound from moving any further then 2 feet from where we are at the moment. It was one of ION's powers and one I'm only starting to develop now. I thought it could come in handy for patrol or sneaking about." Sitting up again Xander watched Snyder without so much as a glance in the groups direction, "See he hasn't got a clue about what went on. He heard nothing." Xander finished off in a terrible Italian accent that sounded more Russian than anything else.

"What about you Buffy? Aren't you interested to find out what sort of career you could have?" Willow asked standing up and brushing the grass off her skirt.

"It's pretty much a moot point for me. We all know the deal don't we? Sub minimum wage, High risk." Buffy replied standing up next to Willow.

"Sharp wooden things?" Xander finished of standing up to walk off with the two girls.

"Since Snyder's making me take the test I can't even just avoid it all and skip out. He's following me every step during class to make sure I get everything done, otherwise believe me I wouldn't even be taking this stupid thing." Getting angry at the situation Buffy storms off towards the library to blow off some steam leaving behind a very confused Willow and Xander.

* * *

Across town in an abandoned warehouse.

"Read the soddin' this again." Spike yells at the vampire holding the book. He obviously impatient and striding around the warehouse like a caged animal.

"Well, I'm not sure. It could be, uh... deprimere... ille... bubula... linter." The vampire stammers out looking over at spike who is now flicking through another book with interest.

"Debase, the beef, canoe." Spike reads out, "Somehow that doesn't strike me as being bloody right." Screaming the last part spike storms over to the vampire and punches him in the face knocking the vampire back a few feet before falling to the ground.

"Come on spike. Come dance." A sing song voice calls through the warehouse as Drusilla walks through and starts stroking spikes hair.

"Not now pet. Can't you see I'm trying to work?" spike growls at her causing Drusilla to flinch and whimper, "I'm sorry love. It's just I can't stand seeing you like this. There's a cure in this soddin book somewhere I just can't find it. Even geek boy over there's having trouble with it." walking over to the vampire spike picks him up and dusts him off, "well? Enlighten me." Picking up the dictionary again spike looks at the vampire expectantly.

"Well... it might be... fumo... crudus... sato"

Spike again it flicking through the dictionary occasionally looking up at Drusilla who is now dealing a tarot deck on the table. "Smoke. The green. Plant? I somehow doubt that the writer of this religious book was into soddin wacky backy mate." Standing up laughing he walks over to Drusilla and puts his arms around her.

"He can't help you," Drusilla says rubbing her face against spikes cheek, "not without the key."

"A key? You mean this book's in some sort of bloody code?"

Drusilla smiles and nods weakly. Turning another card to show a mausoleum she looks up at spike.

"Is that where we'll find the key pet?" he asked placing his finger on the card. Looking at her smile he grins, "I'll send the boys pronto." Laughing he pulls Drusilla up and twirls her around the place causing shrieks of laughter to come from her.

"It just feels like... well I don't know how to describe it Buffy. I can feel the energy inside me getting stronger each time I use it. I just don't know what I'm capable off anymore." Xander trails off looking at the floor.

"Xander. You're not going to do anything wrong with this power. You've had it... what a month or so now?" waiting for him to nod she goes on, "and what's the worst thing that's happened so you? A couple of bruises. You've learnt to fly and do all sorts of cool stuff."

"Yeah Buffy but I also use it stupidly. Like with Cordelia this afternoon. I did it without even thinking about it. I just wanted it to happen and it did. That's not how it works normally. I have to concentrate and focus my will on something if I want it to happen, but lately it's been easier to do things." Grinning he stops and turns to Buffy, "I can even make people now. People who move and talk of their own accord. It takes a lot of energy so I'm pretty much wiped out after but I can do it. Come on. Who do you want for back up tonight? Obi Wan Kenobi? The Highlander? Batman?" Laughing he trails off looking at Buffy's face.

"You mean it don't you?" she asks after the shock wears off.

"Yeah Buffy. All I have to do is imagine them and want them here and... Poof, "waving his arms for effects a small green cloud appears. "Anyone you want. Instant backup." Smiling he creates a sword in his hand, "and speaking off." Nodding over to a mausoleum where Buffy see's a vampire try and sneak in.

"Shall we?" Buffy asks grinning at Xander.

Creating another sword and handing it to Buffy he smiles back at her and they both make their way over to the vampire.

Once they are outside the mausoleum Xander dampens the sound they're making and smiles over at Buffy. "I'll cover out here if you want to take inside."

Grinning Buffy walks over and enters the mausoleum.

"Is there no rest from you people?" smiling at the vampire now panicking and looking around for an exit Buffy walks down the stairs and assumes a combat stance.

"Look slayer, I don't want any trouble here I just came for this and now I'm leaving." The vampire holds its hands up trying to pacify the slayer.

"So not only creature of the night, but grave robbing as well? That's low even for you." A green glow suddenly lights up the area for a second before a soft 'poof' could be heard from outside.

"The green death. Oh god please let me go." The vampire starts whimpering.

"What? Huh?" confused Buffy looks around. Suddenly putting two and two together. The green death they mean Xander? Wow he's got a better name in vamp circles that I do.

"Please slayer. I've heard the stories about that 'thing'. They say he keeps vampires for pets and fly's around with angels. Please you've got to save me. Please!" getting down on his knees he looks up at Buffy practically crying.

"Oh god. Xander. Can you come in here for a minute?" Buffy yells over her back and waits until she hears the mausoleum door open again.

"You ok buff? What's going on here? Some kinky mistress slave thing?" Xander quips looking at the vampire on his knees grovelling to Buffy.

"You're not going to believe this but he wants me to save his life." She could hardly keep the disbelief out of her voice as she told Xander.

Trying to keep a straight face Xander looked down at the vampire. Keeping control of his voice he looked back at Buffy. "Save him? From what? You're the slayer. You're his big bad what does he need you to save him from?"

"Go on; tell him what you told me." Buffy say's nudging the vampire.

"The green death. I saw the flash. That only happens when he's about." The vampire stammers out still on his knees.

"Wait a minute the green death? He's here? Where? Giles has had me researching this thing for weeks now. What do you know about him?" kneeling down to face the vampire Xander misses the look of amusement the passes Buffy's face.

"They say he's invincible, that he fly's around Sunnydale at night with wings made from light itself. I've heard that he's one of the old ones come back to take the hellmouth for himself, that..." the vampires speech is suddenly cut off as Buffy takes the creatures head off with her sword and grins down at Xander.

"What did you do that for? Giles has been hunting down everything about this green death ever since Angel mentioned it to him. Giles thought it was some sort of plague not an actual demon. Now we'll never know. Hey buff we'd better get out of here before it comes round. I don't know what an old one is but... Buffy what's wrong? What ya laughing at?" looking over at Buffy she was lent on the side of a coffin laughing so hard she could barely stand.

"It's you, you idiot. You're 'The Green Death'. You're the thing you've been researching for weeks now. Oh god I can't wait to see Giles face when we tell him." Wiping her face she picks up the cloth parcel from the floor and wipes off the vamp dust, "Come of we'd better get back to Giles and show him this. Might be important."

"Me?" Xander finally reply's, "I'm the green death? How? What?" stammering Xander and Buffy make their way out of the mausoleum.

"It's you and your powers. A vamp must have seen you fighting, flying round or something. Now all the vamps are more scared of you and your flashy lights than me." Pouting Buffy looked over at Xander who was still trying to grasp the idea with a goofball expression on his face.

"I'm more feared than you?" he finally asked quietly in awe.

"I know, and I'm the slayer. It just isn't fair."

Smiling Xander started walking out of the graveyard followed by Buffy. "It's ok buff. I'll let you be my sidekick if you want. You'd have to have a cool name though... how about the midget?" grinning Xander quickly ran away from the enraged slayer.

"I'll give you midget." Could be heard ringing through the empty graveyard.

* * *

"Giles, you about?" Buffy asked walking into the library followed by Xander.

"Buffy good, how did patrol go?" smiling Giles put down his cup of tea and looked up and the two teens.

"Good Giles. We found a vamp trying to rob some grave. Brought you back a little something as well." Tossing the wrapped item on the table Xander quickly created two recliners for him and Buffy to laze on.

"Was this what the vampire was trying to steal?" asked Giles carefully unwrapping the item.

"Yeah, we also got some new information about 'the green death' thing that's got the vamps and demons so terrified." Grinning Buffy looked over at Xander who was now turning a bright shade of red.

"Oh?" Giles looked up, "well come on. It might be important. Another master arrived in town? Or a new type of demon perhaps?" Giles asked going into full watcher mode.

"Well, you could say the answer was under our noses the entire time Giles" Buffy grinned obviously enjoying this.

"It's me ok?" Xander suddenly said standing up from his recliner, "I'm the green death."

"You but? Oh bloody hell. I feel so stupid." Giles muttered taking off his glasses and starting to polish them.

"Tell me about it G-man. I've spent the last two weeks trying to research myself. No wonder I couldn't find anything about it, and get this. The vamps are now more scared of me than they are Buffy." Smiling he looked at Buffy who was going the same red now.

"It's true Giles. This one vamp saw a flash of green light and suddenly he was begging me to save him. I thought I was supposed to be the slayer, the thing that terrifies vampires." Pouting she looked up at her watcher who was obviously trying not to laugh.

"Yes well Buffy. You might be the slayer but it seems Xander here has made a name for himself as his powers are... how should I put this? Flashier than yours." Smiling Giles finished unwrapping the parcel and held a gold cross up in the light.

"Ohh pretty" Buffy said looking at the cross, "but what would a vamp want with a cross?"

"This is the cross of Dulac Buffy. It's a sort of key to understanding some of Dulac's writings. Without it the books are useless. I must say Buffy this is the find of a lifetime. The council believes all of the crosses were lost during the fourteenth century."

"So it's important then?" Xander asked taking a closer look at the cross.

"Vitally so Xander. Most of Dulac's writings were of an arcane nature. Some of the darkest magic's. He wrote them in code so that only those with the crosses would be able to understand the spells. Without them the books just look like gibberish."

"So what use is it to us then? Do we have one of these books lying around or do we need to send off for one?" Buffy asked getting bored with the watcher talk.

"Well in fact we do... no we don't that's what the vampire took from the library." Giles said banging his hand down on the table making both Xander and Buffy jump, "a book was stolen a month or so back by a vampire. It was one of Dulac's tomes. Buffy we must retrieve the book at once."

"Chill Giles we'll get the book back, but I've got to get home soon otherwise mom will start sending out search parties. I'll go hunt down your book tomorrow night ok?" smiling she stands up from the recliner which promptly disappears, "I'll see you two tomorrow ok? See ya." Smiling Buffy walks out the library and starts her way home.

"We'll get it. Don't worry Giles. It's not like the vampire can read it now without the cross, can he?" sitting down on the table Xander looks at Giles.

"Well no. I suppose not Xander but still..."

"Anyway did you find out anything more about this 'vigilante' we've been hearing stories about? Buffy's feeling off as it is now she found out about 'the green death' thing. We don't want her finding out the vamp's are scared of something else that isn't her." Xander picks up the cross and starts throwing it up in the air and catching it before it's taken away by Giles.

"Not much Xander. It seems our new friend is quite elusive. From what I can tell it's a woman and she has enormous power on her side. Nothing like you have, the stories I've heard from Willie seem to paint the picture of some sort of super slayer."

"Well I'm sure we'll come across her eventually Giles. There's not enough room in this town for three super powered people without us bumping into each other. "Laughing Xander jumps off the table, "There was something else I've been meaning to talk to you about Giles. I'm getting a bit worried about my powers."

"What do you mean Xander? Is there something wrong?" looking at Xander now more intently.

"No nothing like that. It's getting easier that's all."

"Well it was bound to. After using anything for a while it gets easier to use and control Xander."

"Not like this Giles. I can feel the power inside me. It's getting stronger. Where I used to be barely able to make a construct move, now I can make them walk around and talk. It's also happening now when I don't want it to."

"When you don't want it to?" Giles repeated getting a worried look on his face.

"Yeah Giles. Like this afternoon I made Cordelia fall. I saw the green glow on her legs as she was lifted up and dumped on the ground but I didn't do it. Well I did do it but I didn't mean to." Looking up Xander was obviously repentant.

"From how you've describe your power's working to me it sounds like what's happening is just a lapse of concentration. Perhaps joined with your subconscious it's causing these things to happen without you meaning to. I'm not a psychiatrist so I couldn't really help you there but it sounds like you just need to concentrate more and try and stop your emotions control your powers." Giles smiled at Xander, "I know you don't mean to do these things and you're a good young man, but sometimes these things take time."

"I know Giles. I'm just worried about going off the deep end or something. I don't want to hurt anyone and it seems like these powers are just getting out of control."

"Look if it's any help to you why I show you some of those advanced meditation techniques you were asking about? Are supposed to help you tap into your soul so to speak and bring harmony to your body. At least that's what I've been told. I've never manager to complete the set myself."

"I'll try them Giles. Thanks." Xander grinned up as Giles fetched the book out of the office.

"You're a good person Xander, if you weren't you wouldn't be worried about hurting anyone would you? Now go home and try and get some rest ok?" smiling at Xander Giles made his way back into the office and put his kettle on.

As Xander made his way out of the library he could hear Giles on the phone making dinner arrangements. Wow Giles has a date. Wonder who with? Smiling to himself at the thought of Giles on a date Xander made his way home.

* * *

Climbing up the tree next to her house Buffy could see that the light was on in her bedroom, "Sure I turned that light off when I left." She muttered to herself as she made her way across a branch to her window. Reaching the window she peaked inside quickly to make sure the coast was clear, "Angel." She said under her breath before throwing her bag through the window and jumping through herself.

"Buffy. You scared me." Angel said standing up from the bed.

"Yeah well now you know how it feels." Smiling Buffy looked at angel. "Looking for some quality time with Mr. Gordo?"

"Huh?" came Angel's reply.

"The stuffed pig." Buffy said smiling to herself as he tossed it to the bed. Walking over to her dresser she takes off her hair band and throws it in a drawer before shaking her head to get all the tangles out of her hear." Feeling a hand on her shoulder she looks up and see's nothing in the reflection.

"Are you ok? I had a bad feeling."

"I'm ok. I just wish it was easier. To have a normal life. Have a normal boyfriend." Bowing her head she realised what she'd just said, "I didn't mean it like that Angel. I just wish I could have a normal life again."

"Was this part of that normal life?" angel asked picking a picture of Buffy ice skating off the mirror frame.

"Yeah. I used to love it." Buffy smiled wistfully.

"You know there's that ice rink up on fifth, it's closed on Tuesday." Angel smiled at her face as it lit up with a smile.

"Tomorrow's Tuesday." Buffy grinned.

"I know." Angel said before kissing her softly and disappearing out the window.

* * *

Back at the abandoned warehouse.

"It's not bad enough we've got the slayer to deal with now we've got the bloody ION git as well. You know what the other vampires are calling him Dru? The green death. I ask you what sort of a name is that. We need some help here or we're never going to get your bloody cure."

Drusilla smiles at him. "Who do you have in mind Spikey?"

"I think it's time we called in the big guns. The order of Teraka." Spike grins as the fledgling at his side stutters.

"The order of Teraka? Don't you think that's over kill?"

"No, for a slayer and a bloody superhero I think that's just about enough kill."

"They're coming to my party." Drusilla says Drusilla dealing three tarot cards. One is of a Cyclops, another of a centipede and the third of a panther.

"Hmm, three of them." Spike mutters to himself walking off into the darkness.

"They're coming and another." Dealing another card she sees the seven of swords. "Another is coming. One who comes out of the slayers shadow, one who has the slayers back." Smiling Drusilla places the cards back in the deck and starts dancing round the room.

* * *

The next day at school.

"Oh, here I am.'Personal shopper or motivational speaker.' Neato!" Cordelia said looking at the board with all the results on. "Wonder what you got Xander, garbage collector or fast food waiter?" she said leafing through to find Xander's results before a look of shock came over her face.

"What? What did I get?" Xander asked the now shocked Cordelia as she made her way out of the crowd silently, "Come on what?" looking up Xander went through the papers to find his name. "Whoa." Was the only thing he could say before looking up Buffy and Willow and moving back out of the crowd.

"So? How did I do?" Willow asked as Xander came around to their table.

"You're name wasn't up there will's so I guess you passed." Xander said still shocked at what he had seen.

"It's not the sort of test you pass Xander. I filled it in correctly. I used a number 2 pencil and everything." Willow started babbling.

"What can I say Willow. You're name wasn't up there."

"What about me? What did I get?" Buffy asked obviously exited but not wanting to show it.

"Law enforcement." Xander said grinning.

"What like police?" Buffy asked shocked.

"Yep Handcuffs and everything." Xander replied winking at her.

"What about you Xander? What did you get?" Willow asked still puzzled as to why her name wasn't up there.

"That was a bit weird. They must have got my paper mixed up with someone else because I got 'professional illustrator'." Xander said as the bell rang.

"Wow." Was all Buffy could say as she stood up.

"But where am I? What do I do? What if they didn't grade me because I don't have a career?" Willow babbled in full force again.

"Willow relax, just go to the careers department and talk to them about it. I'm sure you'll be fine. I've got to go and find Giles now. Ever since we bought that cross back he's been on high alert."

"Better you than me Buffy." Xander grinned before heading to class followed by a muttering Willow as Buffy made her way to the library.

* * *

Sunnydale Ice Rink

Buffy was already on the ice doing complicated twirls and jumps when angel arrived, "Angel." Making her way over to the vampire she skidded to a stop and kissed him softly.

"Enjoying yourself?" Angel asked smiling at her.

"Yeah. I haven't done this in years, thought I'd forgotten how."

A growl echoes round the rink and angel starts looking round. He sees a man coming through the tunnel, storming towards them. Buffy grabs angel and throws him behind her onto the ice before making her way back into the middle of the rink.

"Come and get me ugly." Buffy smiles as the man does exactly this. As he steps foot on the ice Buffy starts charging at him using her slayer strength to push herself faster. Two or three foot in front of him, Buffy leaps into the air letting the speed she had gathered push her through the air as she leapt into a flying kick position.

The man didn't see what was happening. He only noticed the glint on her blades a moment before then connected with his neck and the momentum and weight of the slayer forced the blade through severing his neck from shoulders, spraying Buffy and the ice in blood.

"Buffy..." angel starts trying to stand up on the ice but falling on his ass.

Laughing Buffy moved over to angel and helps him up and over to the rink side.

"Wow that was intense." Buffy grinned wiping the blood from her face, "and disgusting. I only had a shower before coming here now look at me."

"Buffy go home." Angel says bending down looking at the body.

"What? I'm not that bad. Besides did you see that flying kick? It was awesome." Grinning Buffy smiles at Angel.

"I mean it Buffy. You see this ring? It's from the order or Teraka. Show it to Giles he'll know what it means." Stalking off through the tunnel angel only softly heard Buffy call after him.

* * *

High School library later that night.

"I'm afraid he was not overreacting Buffy. This ring is worn only by members of the order of Teraka. It's a society of deadly assassins dating back to before King Solomon." Giles explained with a serious look on his face as he examined the ring.

"Assassins? Why are they after me? Buffy asked now slightly afraid.

"Because you're the slayer?" Xander offered up as explanation causing Buffy to shrug her shoulders.

"I don't know, I don't know. I think the best thing we can do is to find a secure location. Somewhere out of town until we decide on the best course of action."

"Giles You are the second person that's said head for the hills. What's going on?" Buffy asked now visibly afraid.

"Buffy the order are a highly trained group of assassins. Not just demons but humans and vampires as well. They will not stop. You kill one another will come, and another, and another." Giles stopped to polish his glasses before continuing, "You will never know when one is coming. You will only know just before they attack."

Buffy swallows loudly and looks at Giles. "But where can I go?"

"I've got something better." Xander stands up causing everyone to now look at his curiously. "I've been trying this out for a few days now. It's not perfect and nowhere near as powerful as the original but it should last a few days. More than enough time for us to figure out who these guys are and put a stop to them." Grasping Buffy's hand he holds his other hand over the palm and a bright green glow emanates from within. As the glow stops Xander is visibly worn and falls onto a chair.

"What is this?" Buffy asks holding her fist tightly closed, almost afraid of what she might find.

"It's a ring Buffy. A Green Lantern ring." Seeing the shocked look on willows face and the confused look on Giles' and Buffy's he decides to elaborate before collapsing, "the green lantern rings we're the source of powers for the green lantern corps. With them they could do pretty much anything I can do. The only limitations were yellow and time. The rings couldn't affect anything yellow and they had to be recharged every twenty four hours." Taking a breath and standing up now feeling more energised he continued, "This one's not as powerful as those. As much as I want to I can't create a full ring. This one will however protect you from any harm for three days before it needs charging again. It took a lot of willpower to make so please don't lose it."

"Wow." Willow exclaimed. "It's just protection though? It can't make her fly or create a bomb or anything?"

"No Willow. As I said it's just for protection." Looking over at Buffy she was examining the ring closely.

"Xander it won't fit. It's too big." Realising what she said Buffy went bright red.

Laughing Xander moved over to her and took the ring. "Buffy it's a perfect fit." He said with a smile as he slipped it on.

To her amazement the ring at first was too big for her then it sort of shrank before sitting snugly on the base of her finger glowing softly.

"Thank you." Buffy said looking into Xander's eyes, "Thank you."

"Well isn't this touching?" spike comment's striding into the library like he owns it.

"Spike!" Buffy says immediately looking round for a weapon or something she can use.

"You have something that belongs to me watcher." Spike grins looking at the slayer and her gang. A small redhead is sat at the table surrounded by books and there's a boy stood by the slayer that he recognises from somewhere, "Don't I know you?" spike asks.

"No but I know you spike." Xander starts building up power in his hand behind his back.

"You walk right in here and expect to just take whatever you want? That's a bit suicidal even for you spike." Buffy says as she walks in front of Xander to hide the green glow that's coming from him.

"You're right slayer. If I didn't have an ace in the hole." Spike grins thrusting his hands into his pockets, "I've got Angel. Now unless you want him to be gritting roadsides by this time tomorrow I suggest you give me what I want and let me leave."

"And what is it exactly that you want spike?" Giles asks standing up.

"I want the cross. The one you're slayer bint stopped me from getting the other night." Looking at the Buffy he could see her bristling with anger, "You give me the cross and I let angel go. Sounds like a fair trade to me."

"And how do we know you'll uphold you're side of the bargain?" Buffy asked glaring at spike, "You're not the most trustworthy person."

"You'll just have to trust me. Now where is that bloody cross?" spike asks getting impatient.

"Buffy I can dust him from here. Just let me take a shot." Xander whispers in her ear.

"You dust me? Be serious please." Spike laughs looking at the shocked face on Xander. "Don't be bloody stupid whelp."

"Don't Xander, please. He's got Angel." Placing her hand of Xander's chest she feels the energy slip away from him.

"Pay attention to the slayer whelp. You don't want to get hurt. Now my cross if you don't mind?" spike says grinning and holding out his hand.

"Here." Buffy shouts in anger picking the cross off the table and throwing it at him.

Catching the cross spike's hands immediately begin to smoke, dropping the cross he gets a clots out of his coat pocket and picks it up, "Shouldn't have done that slayer." He growls before running out of the library.

"You should have just let me take my shot. I would have dusted him easily." Xander frowns at Buffy sitting down.

"And then Angel would have been killed. Xander please help me find him."

"Ok I'll do a sweep from sky level but can't promise I'll find anything. Knowing spike he's probably somewhere underground." Xander says standing up and changing into his 'work clothes' in a flash of green light.

"Thank you. I'll check out willies, see if he knows anything about this order thingy before heading home. I'm sorry Giles." Without letting Giles say a thing Buffy runs out of the library into the night.

"I'll do a sweep. Spike couldn't have got far Giles. I'll follow him back to his lair of whatever get angel and dust spike. Be done before morning." Xander grinned at the watcher letting the green shine through his eyes.

"Please be careful Xander, and thank you for what you did for Buffy. Something like that may turn the tide or battle." Smiling at the young man he watched him go out into the night and take off in a green glow.

"What can I do Giles?" Willow asked looking at him, "I've got all these skills but I can't do anything to help."

"You can help me researching this other vigilante that's been reported in Sunnydale. If we have someone else on our side I'd like to know who it is and what they are doing. Anything strange in the past month." Handing a book to Willow he could see the smile on her face at being useful.

"I just want to help Giles. I know I'm not a hero like Buffy or Xander but I've got skills. I can fight now." Looking at Giles expectantly Willow thought about all the times Xander and Buffy had gone on patrol and told her to stay here because it wasn't safe.

"I know you can Willow. Buffy is just afraid that you might get hurt or something."

"What about Xander? He could get hurt or worse." Willow counter argued.

"Yes he could, but he's shown that if the situation gets too much for him or Buffy he can get them out if it quick and without incident. You are an extraordinary fighter Willow but vampires have speed and strength that sometimes not even a slayer can match. We'll keep up with your training but for now can you help me locate this information?" smiling at the young girl before heading into his office Giles aloud a brief smile to cross his lips. She would be ready to patrol soon and gods help any vampires that came across this trio on patrol.

* * *

The graveyard.

Xander sets down and 'flashes' back into his usual clothes. He'd lost spike somewhere in the graveyard. Judging from the speed at which the vampire was running it was close to his lair.

"Come out, come out where ever you are." Xander called into the empty graveyard and laughed when he didn't get a response. We'll just have to do this the old fashioned way he thought to himself as he started walking through the graveyard.

Creating a construct of Master Qui Gon Jin from star wars and one of Methos from highlander for company Xander swept through the graveyard looking for any sign of spike.

"This is most peculiar." The Methos construct said startling Xander, "I'm aware that I'm not really here and I know that I'm a fictional character from a TV show."

"Uh yeah." Xander said beginning to get a bit wierded out.

"But I have all the memories of me, I know I AM Methos." The Methos construct said.

"Uh why are you asking me? And how are you talking in the first place... you mean you're aware of what you are?" Xander asked intrigued. This was the first time one of his constructs had talked let alone showed consciousness.

"I too feel the same." Qui Gon said from the other side of Xander, "And I can tell you that there is someone hiding in the bushes 13 feet behind us."

Grinning to Qui Gon and Methos, Xander suddenly had an idea. "You go left Qui Gon and Methos, You right. I'll catch spike by surprise," with than Xander took to the sky's again looking down to see Qui Got and Methos stalk around the graveyard towards the bush in question. As soon as they were within five foot of the bush Xander swept down and encased the bush in a Green shield, "come out spike. I know you're in there..." Xander was suddenly cut off by a sword at his throat. Looking over he saw an exotic young women holding the sword in a way that showed she knew how to use it.

"What are t'ose t'ings?" she asked with a strong Jamaican accent nodding to his constructs.

"I'll be happy to tell you once you've got the sword out of my neck." Xander quipped back. He knew he could take her down if he had to but the energy inside her was the same as Buffy's. The bright green energy. Did that mean she was a slayer?

Moving the sword down from his neck and away from his body the young woman asked again. "Now what are t'ose t'ings? I saw you create t'em from not'ing."

"They're constructs. An ability of mine." Xander retorted trying to figure out exactly what this young woman was.

"Not very stealthy. They be glowing bring green." Smiling the young lady put the sword up and held her hand out, "I'm Kendra."

"Xander." He replied, "Haven't seen you about before? You the new vigilante we've been hearing about round here?"

"Not me. I got it last night. Just patrolling the area when I saw you and t'ose green things having a conversat'on." Kendra said trying to relax but it was hard. Her slayer training was telling her to hide from this man but he had an easy smile and looked like he could be of some help so she stayed for the minute.

"Patrolling? That's what I'm doing. So you got any power's or abilities like mine then?" Xander asked now fishing for information about the new arrival.

"I apologise. I'm Kendra... the vampire slayer."

To Xander this just confirmed what he already knew. "Vampire slayer huh? Thought there could only be one of you."

"Indeed, into each generation there is the chosen one. She alone will stand again the forces of darkness." Kendra said proudly reciting the chosen one speech.

"Well think there's been a cock up in the system somewhere missy because we've already got a vampire slayer here."

"That cannot be. There is only one. Once that slayer dies then the power is passed onto the next." Kendra said not believing the man in front of her.

Dissolving the constructs Xander started walking towards the gate of the cemetery. "I think we'd better talk to Giles about this."

"Who is Giles?" Kendra asks catching up with Xander.

"Giles is Buffy's watcher. She's the vampire slayer." Smiling he looked over at Kendra.

"Yes I agree talking to my watcher would be most useful. But if she is the slayer what are you?" Kendra asked inquisitively.

"Me? I'm the Torchbearer." The name slid off Xander lips before he had even thought about it. He wanted to say something cool like 'I'm complicated' or something like that. Torchbearer? He didn't even know what that was.

"What is this 'Torchbearer'? I don't know the name." Kendra asked stopping to look at him.

"Funny. Neither do I." Xander muttered without stopping walking.

* * *

AN: woohoo bit of a long one there but looks like part two might be longer.  
hope you're all still enjoying it and remember reviews are a friend :)

M


	9. Chapter 9

TITLE: The Power of XION  
AUTHOR: Methos if ya want to host it somewhere else just tell me where ya putting it ok? ;)  
DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Green Lantern, ION, Batgirl and any other mentions of DC characters belong to DC Comics ok? I own nothing ;)  
SUMMARY: On Halloween Ethan's little costume stunt may have changed the future more that he know. and created something completely new in this dimension.  
FEEDBACK: love it :) my first fanfic and so many reviews already :) more please lol  
RELATIONSHIPS: None as yet, copious amounts of flirting yes but no relationships planned.  
RATING: FR18  
SPOILERS: Anything from the Halloween episode onwards. I plan on taking the story through to the bitter end of Buffy. Changing a few things along the way of course ;)

* * *

"Guys, I think we have a problem here." Xander said as he made his way into the library closely followed by an exotic looking brunette.

"Xander? Is everything ok?" Giles asked getting up from his chair and moving over to Xander.

"Yeah it's fine. I lost Spike though, he disappeared somewhere in St. Mary's. I did find this consolation prize though," Grinning Xander walked over to a chair and say down. "Kendra here says she's a slayer."

"Who's a slayer? Huh?" Came a confused shout from Buffy as she entered the library.

"Well I must say this is a bit confusing. You're a slayer? Kendra was it?" Giles stammered out trying to get his bearings.

"Yes sir. I was sent here by my watcher, Mr. Zanbuto. He said a dark force was in Sunnydale and I was to stop it." Kendra was obviously a bit nervous in the situation clasping her hands behind her back and avoiding eye contact with Giles.

"Well Sam Zanbuto is well known in the watcher circles. He's one of the best, and he's been training you?"

"Yes sir." Kendra stood firm still avoiding eye contact with the Watcher keeping her eyes on the girl that was now sat with the green man, as she had dubbed him in her mind.

"Well... I don't know how this is possible. There is only ever one slayer, once she dies then the..." Giles let's his voice trail off realising what the implications were.

"Hey you died Buff." Xander said looking over at her.

"Yeah but only for a minute, I got better." Buffy said now looking down at the table.

"You died?" Kendra walked over to the table where they were sitting. "Mr. Zanbuto said that only once a slayer dies does the power pass onto to the next chosen one."

"I revived her," Xander said standing up. "Giles come on. There has to be some explanation here."

"Well yes... Buffy did indeed die, even for just a short time in The Master's cave. It must have been enough to activate the next potential," Taking off his glasses and cleaning them Giles continued. "Though there is no precedent for what has happened here, I must admit I'm quite amazed at how this must have happened."

"Well here's a solution." Buffy started standing up and moving over next to Giles. "I'm the slayer here. Giles is my watcher so you can just pack your bags and go back to wherever it is that you came from. We don't need two slayers here." Buffy was moving in front of Giles almost protectively.

"Buffy chill. Think about it, we've got two slayers now. Between you this town could be vamp free in under a week." Xander looked at Buffy trying to get her to see the good points in this.

"But I'm the slayer. It's my destiny and now I find out someone else has it. How am I supposed to feel Xander?"

"I get that Buffy. But this now Kendra's here you can actually take some time off. Share the load with someone else. You don't have to be the chosen one anymore." Xander now smiling seeing that Buffy has thought about it.

"Well I don't know about taking some time off but I do know that with Kendra here you're responsibilities have lessened somewhat." Giles smiled at Buffy. Being a slayer had been hard on her, all he wanted to do was help her with her destiny. Now with someone else to share the burden she might have a chance to enjoy life for a bit.

* * *

Across town at Spike's warehouse.

"Well look here, we've got the book, the decoder thing and you're sire pet, all we need now is for the order to keep the slayer out of our hair until the ritual is complete and we'll be running this town inside a week." Spike grinned stroking Dru's hair looking over at Angel who was tied up with chains round his wrists pulling him taught to the ceiling.

"I was dreaming." Dru lifts her head up looking at Spike, "Angel was there and the green light ended the slayer."

"The green light? What that bloody hero that nearly killed us a few weeks back? He's going to end the slayer? Bloody good luck to him." Spike grinned walking over to Angel. "You hear that? That soddin green poofter is going to kill your little muffy." Laughing Spike watches Angel try and break free from the chains.

"I'll kill you Spike. If anything happens to Buffy." Glaring at Spike Angel stops trying to escape the chains feeling how strong they are and looking around at the vampires surrounding him he knows escape would be impossible.

"Ohh I'm wetting myself. Come on Angel. You used to be better at threats than that. Where's the old Angelus spirit?" taunting Angel he pulls over a chain and lights a smoke throwing the match on Angel's bare chest.

"I mean it Spike." Angel growls down at the younger vampire.

"Yeah well." Spike trails off taking a drag off his cigarette. "Dru thinks that your precious slayer won't be around much now anyway. Says the green guys going to end her and all that. Kind of fitting don't you think?" standing up Spike walks over to Drusilla and kisser her softly on her cheek before walking out of the warehouse into the night.

* * *

Sunnydale high school, the next day.

"Well I've spoken to your watcher Kendra. Mr. Zanbuto and he agrees with me that you should stay in Sunnydale and assist Buffy until the threat has passed." Walking out of the office Giles smiles at the group.

"Yes sir, thank you." Kendra looks up at Giles and then over to the group.

"Yes, well, I think that's the dark power that your Watcher referred to. You see, uh, you see Drusilla's not only evil, she's also quite mad. If she's restored to her full health..." Giles let the explanation slip off as her looked around the group.

"I get it Giles, and we still haven't heard anything from Angel." Buffy said beginning to get worried.

"I told you Buffy. You should have let me dust Spike when I had the shot. He's not going to let Angel go just because he made a deal." Xander said now standing up and pacing the room.

"Indeed I agree with Xander. It was foolish to give Spike the cross. Now he has that and the book we have no way of knowing what he's planning on doing."

"Well we'll just have to find Spike and kill him when we do. We could hit willies, find out if he knows anything about where Spike's hiding out or what he's planning," Buffy stands up and grabs her coat. "Are you coming Xand?"

"You take Kendra Buffy, I'm going to do a fly by and see if I can find Spike that way."

"Cool. Come on. We can take turns at beating up Willie until he talks. It's quite therapeutic." Grinning Buffy leads Kendra out of the library.

"Yes... well Willow could you stay here and help me research Dulac's work's? If we find something to hint as to what he's planning then perhaps we can find a way of stopping it." Giles said looking over at the Willow.

"Sure Giles." She smiled up.

"Ok then. You two get on with that and I'll be back shortly. Hopefully with Spike's dust." Grinning Xander flashed into his 'work clothes' and walked out the back door before taking off in a flash of green light.

Flying over Sunnydale was quite amusing Xander thought to himself as he did a quick pass over the cemeteries. He could stay up here for hour's and not have to worry about anything. Looking down he could see the lines of houses stretched out and people going about the usual business.

"I'll take a quick swing round Buffy's check to see if Joyce is ok" he muttered to himself as he sped through the night towards his target.

Landing quickly he could see no one was about he quickly changed into his normal clothes and walked up to the house knocking on the door. No answer.

'Hmm wonder if she's out doing some shopping or something' he thought as he started walking down the drive. Casting his eyes around to see if anyone was about he was about to change into his 'work clothes' again when he noticed someone in the house opposite.

Normally people gave off a light blue energy when he looked at them but this guy. He was glowing red. A dark red. Looking closely Xander could see the individual life patterns in the 'man'. He obviously wasn't human but what was he doing watching Buffy's house.

Deciding to investigate further Xander was about to cross the street when he heard a rush. Is sounded like wind but much faster. Looking around he couldn't see anything.

"Weird." He commented to himself as he started across the street again only to find himself being picked up into the air at incredible speed. He could feel the hand's holding him tight round the waist as they flew into the night sky. Until they stopped in mid flight.

Flashing into his uniform he found himself quickly dropped and fell for a few seconds before regaining his control and levelling out to see who is would be captor was.

"Wow, didn't see that one coming," He said to himself looking up at the figure hovering there in a Supergirl uniform. Smiling He brought himself up to the same level as her, before grinning and creating a chair to sit on. "Well I guess me and you have something to talk about?" he smiles creating another chair for the 'Supergirl'.

Smiling she brought herself over and sat down. "Guess so."

* * *

The alibi room.

"Willie, you're in luck today. Two slayers," Grinning Buffy smacked Willie before asking him again. "Angel. Where is Angel and where is Spike hiding out?"

"I don't know honest. I told you all I know. Spikes somewhere on the edge of town. I don't know where Angel is honest." Whimpering he waited for the next hit but was surprised when he was let go. Slumping down on the bar he looked up at the two girls.

"You'd better not be lying to us. If I find out you are I'll come back and it'll be worse than a few smacks." Buffy threatened before walking out with the other girl.

"Now we return to your watcher for orders." Kendra said starting to walk down the street.

"I don't take orders from anyone. Look we know Spike's hold up on the edge of town we can find out where he is and rescue Angel." Buffy stopped looking at her sister slayer.

"What do you want with a vampire anyway? He should be dead. You're a slayer, he's a vampire. Do your duty." Kendra snapped at Buffy.

"Look it's more complicated than that. He's got a soul. He's one of the good guys." Buffy tried to explain.

"Having a soul doesn't make you a good guy Buffy, doing the right thing makes you a good guy."

"He's done the right thing. He saved my life on more than one occasion. He's on the right side."

"If you say so, I still don't t'ink it's right. Trusting a vampire." Kendra started marching off back towards the school.

"It's my choice. Come on we might as well check in with Giles. He might have found something about what Spike is up to." With that Buffy followed faith back to the school.

* * *

The next day at school.

"This career thing is a bust. I can't believe I have to go for law enforcement." Buffy walked through the corridors with Willow.

"Yeah but look now that Kendra is here maybe you could have a normal life. Have a job and a family." Willow tried to reassure her friend.

"Willow Rosenberg?" a voice came from behind the two girls.

"Uh, yeah hi." Looking over Willow saw two men in suits looking at her and Buffy.

"Would you please come with us." With that the two men started walking away towards a classroom that had a black curtain draped across the doorway.

"Ok Will's I'll catch up with you later. Found my group anyway." Walking over to a group Buffy looked at the stern looking police woman.

"Alright, listen up, and answer when I call your name. Buffy Summers?"

"Here" Buffy put her hand up.

The police woman looked over at her and drew her gun firing two shots off at Buffy.

Buffy didn't even have time to react. The gun was just there pointing at her head, and then she heard the report of the shots.

For anyone else looking everything just stopped. There was a purple and black blur through the room followed by a blast of wind and when Buffy looked up the gun was crumpled on the ground with the police woman on the floor unconscious.

"Huh? What?" Buffy stammered out looking at the unconscious body. A steel bar had been bent around the body like a chain restraining her.

Before long the area was a hub of excitement. Everyone was wondering what had happened and several students already had their mobile phones out.

Playing with the ring on her finger, before moving away from all the excitement she replayed the scene in her head. "Xander." She just muttered to herself. He's the only one that could have done that. But where was the green glow?

Walking off towards the library she didn't notice a woman watching her from the stairs.

"That was close." She said opening her hand and dropping two flattened bullets on the floor before walking off.

* * *

The Library.

"And then the bullets just... they just disappeared Giles. I'm telling you Xander must have done his thing." Buffy explained as she sat down. Shaken from her near brush with death.

"Be that as It may Buffy. I feel that we have to take into account that now the order is attacking you in school. Maybe at your home as well, is your mother safe?" Giles asked sitting down next to Buffy.

"She's away for the week. Up in LA getting some stuff for the gallery. Xander!" she exclaimed as she saw him walk into the library. Rushing over she hugged him squeezing tight. "Xander oh thank you, thank you, thank you. I don't know how you did it or what you did but thank you."

"Uh Giles? Explanation here please. Not that I'm not enjoying the closeness or anything but what's going on?"

"Buffy was attacked in the school. One of the Order with a gun came after her, but if you didn't stop it..." Giles explained looking puzzled.

"Buff," pulling her arms from around his waist. Xander looked into her eyes. "Buffy it wasn't me. I think I have a good idea as to who it was but it wasn't me ok?"

Letting go Buffy looked up into his eyes. "It wasn't you? Then who? Huh?"

"I found someone else Giles. Someone who kept their power's from Halloween like I did. Quite a list of power's as well... flight, super strength, x-ray vision, laser vision, super speed... everything a normal kryptonion has on this planet." Grinning he looked at Giles.

"A kryptonion? You mean to tell me there's a student running round the school with all the power's of Superman?" sitting down Giles took off his glasses and started rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Not Superman Giles. Supergirl, it's a woman. I met her last night outside you're place Buffy. There was this guy watching your house. Good thing I saw him as well." Smiling Xander sat down and began to recount the events of last night.

"I was going round to check on your mom. I knocked on the door but there wasn't any answer so I figured she must be out. I was just about to leave when I saw this guy in the house opposite."

"Do go on Xander." Giles said listening intently.

"Well I was heading over when I suddenly found myself airborne. Apparently 'Supergirl' had been patrolling the streets that night and had found this guy. We talked for a bit realizing what had happened to her I told her about Halloween and she said she'd been patrolling every night since then. Oh you'll get a kick out of this Buffy, remember the flying vampire you encountered just after Halloween? The one that fell in front of you and dusted on the sidewalk?"

"Uhuh." Buffy responded trying to figure out who this 'Supergirl' might be.

"That was her. She was being attacked by a vampire when the spell ended and she threw the vampire into the air. That's when she realised that she still had her powers."

"Fascinating," Giles said cleaning his glasses. "She has all the powers?"

"Oh I haven't got to the good part get Giles. As I said we were near your place when we spotted this guy. I tried looking at him for an energy reading. But instead of blue his was dark red. I explained this to 'Supergirl' realising that she might be able to see something I couldn't. Using her 'x-ray' vision she looked at the guy, not a guy at all Giles. He was made up of bugs. Hundreds of them."

"What did you do with this man? Is he still there watching Buffy's house?" standing up from his chair Giles started pacing the library.

"Nah, he's toast. Me and 'Supergirl' took care of it. Snuck into the house behind him and a quick blast of energy from me and a blast of heat vision from her... poof. He's a blackened smear on the wall." Xander finished off with a smug smile on his face.

"Coolness. So we have a real 'Supergirl' now to help us? What's her name? Who is she?" Buffy smiled at Xander trying to get all the information out of him she could.

"I can't tell you Buffy. She asked me to keep it a secret. Said she wasn't ready to let everyone know she's a freak."

"But she's not a freak Xander. Me, Kendra, you we've all got super power's."

"I know Buffy and I told her, she just wants a little time to adjust. She'll come around."

"Well it's certainly nice to know that we do have someone out there helping us." Giles said smiling.

"Yeah, did you find out anything else about what Spike is up to Giles?"

"I fear the worst is still to come. I've discovered the remaining keys to Drusilla's cure. The ritual requires that, the presence of her sire, and it must take place in a church on the night of the new moon." Giles looked at Buffy.

"That's tonight Giles, and Spike's already got Dru's sire. It was Angel." Buffy stool up looking panicked.

"I know. The ritual has to be performed in a specific church. We have a few hours before night fall so I suggest that Xander fly's over Sunnydale and attempts to find this church while we get ready for the battle. Kendra are you proficient using an axe or sword?"

"Yes sir. I was trained in using an axe from a young age."

"Good. If you take the axe, I'll take a crossbow and Buffy... Buffy?" looking round Buffy was nowhere to be seen.

"Xander search for this church. We'll find Buffy. Find us when you've found the church and we'll meet you there ok?"

"Got it Giles." Flashing into his 'work clothes' or 'uniform' as Supergirl had called it he left the library and took to the sky.

* * *

Spike's warehouse.

"Say Uncle," Drusilla says as she pours some holy water on Angel's chest. "Oh, that's right, you killed my uncle."

She is about to pour some onto his chest again when Spike storms in the room.

"That bloody green thing. I thought you said he was on our side. He's out there now flying about looking for us."

Drusilla stands up looking at him. "He makes pretty colours."

"Pft! I'll see him die soon enough. I've never been much for green, more a red and black man myself," Spike grins marching over to Angel. "Come on baby it's time now. Enough with the teasing we've got to plan for the ritual."

"That's what Drusilla likes best, as I recall." Angel looks down at Spike trying to smile through the pain as the holy water drips down his legs burning them.

"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" Spike growls at Angel slapping him round the face.

Spitting out some blood Angel turns back to Spike. "Ask her. She knows what I mean."

"Shh! Bad puppy." Drusilla says as she grins at Angel.

"Whatever, we've got to plan for the ritual come on." Grabbing Angel's chains he leads them outside and to the abandoned church a few blocks from the warehouse.

* * *

Sunnydale High school Library.

Landing Xander quickly runs into the library through the back door, "Giles Buffy I've found them. They're at an abandoned church on ninth and third. It's about half an hour's drive from here."

"We'll never be in time. Xander you take Buffy and Kendra. Me and Willow will go on the car and meet you there." Giles says grabbing his coat and weapons.

"Ok. Girls you ready for a ride?" grinning he looks over at the nervous slayer's

"Are you sure you can manage both of us Xander?" Buffy asks a bit nervously. She's always been afraid of flying ever since she'd watched a horror movie about a plane crash when she was younger.

"Sure Buffy. I'll tell you what. Follow me." Xander smiled thinking about what he could make to get them there.

Outside he looked around the empty car lot before grinning to the two girls and creating a bubble around them. Taking off slowly as to not alarm the slayer's he quickly created a bench for them to sit on inside the Buffy.

"Xander? Is this what it feels like for you? All the time?" Buffy asked sitting down.

"Nah Buffy. Normally I just do it alone. I don't need a bubble or chairs. This is just to make you two comfortable." Smiling he took a seat and concentrated on the church as they flew though the night.

"There I see it." Kendra stood up in the bubble pointing to the church.

"That's it. Should I set down outside or on the roof?" Xander asked.

"Oh I've got a better idea Xander, who not set us inside?" Buffy grinned looking positively evil.

"I like that. Hold on." Xander quickly made the Buffy opaque before crashing in through the ceiling on the church and landing. He kept the bubble there for a minute longer while the debris from the roof fell and the dust settled. Soon he heard a scream of "What the bloody hell?"

"What the Bloody hell?" Spike was fuming. The ceiling had just caved in and now there was a bloody great green sphere in the middle of the room.

Xander Grinned. Making the bubble see through again, "Think we pissed him off Buffy?" he asked looking round to make sure Buffy and Kendra were ok.

"Quick get rid of the bubble we've got to save Angel." Buffy said picking up her stake and handing Kendra the axe.

Dissolving the bubble Xander stepped through the cloud of dust and looked at Spike. "Told you I'd have your dust Spike."

"You? Oh bloody hell. And you brought a slayer. Who's the other bint though?" Spike looked on. He'd heard storied about this green bloke and seen what he could do personally. Stepping behind Angel he picked up a stake.

"You hurt one hair on him and I'll make you suffer for months before I dust you Spike." Buffy threatened as she advanced on Spike menacingly.

"You come any closer and I'll turn lover boy into pencil shavings." Spike threatened now looking for a way him and Drusilla could get out. He could see the other girl making her way round the pulpits with an axe and that soddin green bloke was just stood there looking at him.

"That's another slayer Spike," looking at spikes face Xander let loose a chuckle. "Yep two slayers and the green death," Xander fingered air quotes as he said it. "Don't think you'll be getting out of this one do you?"

Seeing Kendra approach from the left and Buffy moving slowly down the middle Xander quickly sent a burst of energy that Drusilla quickly ducked and fled out a door.

"Let her go. I want Spike." Buffy said glaring at the vampire. Before she could say another word Spike leaped out from behind Angel and grabbed Kendra.

"Let me go and I promise I won't hurt her." He snarled twisting Kendra's arm so she dropped the axe.

"Why should we believe you Spike? I could just dust you from here." Xander menaced walking towards the vampire.

"You could but it would kill you're slayer here too wouldn't it?" Spike grinned trying to think up a way of this.

"I'm warning you Spike." Buffy said as she approached holding her stake in front of her, waiting for any sign of action from the vampire.

Bending down still holding Kendra by the throat Spike picked up the axe, "Come any closer and you'll find lover boy here will fit in an ash tray not to mention the slayer here will be drained dry before you can even blink."

Xander took his opportunity and shot a blast of pure energy at the chains holding Angel up. Tearing through the chains like paper Angel slumped to the floor unconscious.

"Bloody hell." Spike growled.

"Move one more inch and I'll do the same to you." Xander said moving slowly towards Spike.

Evaluating his options Spike decided to take the risk. Throwing Kendra into Buffy he dove behind a stone pillar narrowly avoiding another energy blast. Searing under his breath he crouched down and tried to think up another way out of here.

Kendra picked herself up and looked over at Buffy. "Xander, Buffy's hurt. Must have hit her head when we went down."

"Spike, you've hurt her and I swear..." firing another energy blast in spikes direction he head a muffled exclamation coming from the vampire.

"I'll go around. You take t'at side." Kendra said picking up Buffy's stake and moving off round the church.

As Xander backed away to make his way round Spike crawled through the church keeping to the shadows under the benches he made his way over to Kendra. Quickly standing up behind her he reached over and pulled her head down into the stone of the wall.

"Bloody slayers." He muttered slipping off his jacket and putting it on Kendra before standing her up and propping her against the wall in the darkness before slipping out the same door in silence.

Approaching the pillar Xander jumped round in and let loose an energy blast where he thought Spike was blasting a hole in the floor he looked around for anyway Spike must have gone before hearing a groan coming from Buffy's direction.

"Buffy!" he shouted running over to her, Spike forgotten for the minute.

"Where is he? Did you get him?" Buffy asked sitting up rubbing her head.

"Not yet. He's in here somewhere you found him Kendra?" Xander shouted into the darkness of the church.

"There!" Buffy shouted pointing over to the darkness where she could see Spike's coat flapping in the wind.

Without a second though Xander let loose the strongest energy blast he could knocking Spike through the wall behind him and out onto the road.

"Got him Buffy, not even Spike could have survived that." He said as he helped her up.

"Angel!" she shouted running over and helping her boyfriend up.

"You grab Angel. I'll go and make sure it dusted Spike. If not I'll finish the job." Xander said as he made his way over to the hole in the wall.

"Are you ok Angel?" Buffy asked sliding Angel's arm round her shoulder's to help him stand.

"I'm good. Spike?" he asked.

"Dusted, See for yourself," Buffy smiled smugly looking over to the hole where Xander was knelt down over Spike's body. "Xander?" she called out before funning over.

Xander looked down. It wasn't Spike he had hit. It was Kendra. The bastard had dressed her in his coat and fled.

"Buffy! Help!" Xander cried out letting the tears roll down his cheek.

Running over Buffy stopped mid stride when she saw what had happened. Kendra was in a crumpled mess on the floor. Xander's energy blast had hit her right in the chest and had torn right through her.

The entire left side of Kendra's chest was missing. The wound cauterised and still smoking as Xander knelt there holding the fallen slayer in his arms crying.

Buffy just collapsed on the floor, tears running down her cheeks, "Xander help her! Do something!"

"Do what?" he shouted back at her.

The two teens just looked at each other for a while.

"I killed her Buffy. I KILLED HER!" Xander shouted.

"You didn't mean to. I told you it was Spike. I told you... oh god." Buffy looked again at the body noticing the blood that was now flowing from the missing side of her body.

"I... killed... her." Xander mumbled out in between gasps.

"Xander come on. We've got to get back to Giles. Tell him what happened." Buffy said standing up and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I'm going to kill him. YOU HEAR THAT SPIKE, YOURE DUST!" Xander shouted into the night, "Dust."

Moving over Buffy helped Xander stand up and looked down at her fallen sister. "We can't leave her like this Xander. You've got to get rid of her."

"When I find him. I'm going to make him pay for this," Xander said as his eyes flashed with anger. Looking down at the body he knelt down and laid his hand on what was left of her chest. "I'm sorry." He whispered at Kendra's body.

The body glowed bright green for a second then was gone.

"Buffy, I'm..." Angel said moving round to her but stopped when he saw Xander's eyes burning bright green.

"This is your fault," Xander shouted walking towards Angel. "YOUR FAULT." He screamed as his entire body lit up in green flames.

"Xander I..." Angel started backing away the sight of Xander with pure anger in his eyes covered in green flames terrifying him.

"Xander don't." Buffy said placing her hand on Xander's shoulder immediately quenching the flames.

"It's his fault all of this." Xander said turning to Buffy, his eyes still growing bright green with anger.

"Let him go. We need him. I need him." Buffy said looking into Xander eyes as they turned back to their normal hazel colour.

"How am I going to tell Giles? I'm a killer Buffy." he said lowering his head.

"You're not a killer Xander. You made a mistake. It was as much my fault as yours."

"I'm a killer." He said softly as he turned to walk away.

"Angel, go home. I'll call you later." Buffy said before running over to catch up with Xander.

* * *

The next day at lunch, Sunnydale High school library.

"It wasn't his fault Giles. We both thought it was Spike." Buffy tried to explain.

"Where is he now? Has anyone seen him all day? Willow?" Giles asked worry evident on his face.

"I'm sorry Giles. He wasn't in any of his classes this morning." Willow replied sitting down on a chair.

"We've got to find him. Tell him that we understand. That he isn't a killer." Giles said grabbing his jacket.

"How Giles? If he doesn't want to be found then we won't be able to. He could just be flying around and we'd never be able to get to him." Buffy said looking defeated.

"We've got to try." Giles snapped back before running out of the library followed by Willow and then Buffy.

Above Sunnydale, about 2 miles up.

"Want to talk about it?" came a voice from behind Xander shocking him out of his tears.

"Not really. Came up here to be alone." Xander replied looking over to see 'Supergirl' floating next to him. This time she wasn't wearing her uniform.

"I heard about what happened." She said floating over to him and embracing him in a hug.

"I'm a killer." He said simply.

"You're not a killer. None of your friends think that. They're down there now searching for you. They're worried Xander. We all are."

"I killed someone, Ruined Buffy's chances of having a normal life. How can she ever forgive me?" he asked looking up into her eyes.

"She doesn't see it that way. You both thought it was Spike correct?"

"Suppose." The muffled sound came from the teen.

"Well then. It wasn't your fault. Now come back to the library and we'll talk to them. Together." She said lifting his face up to look into his eyes.

"But I thought you..." he let the question hang unfinished in the air.

"If they can accept you and a slayer I'm sure they can accept me," She said floating away from him and holding her hand out. "Come on."

Smiling for the first time in what seemed like years Xander looked up at her, "You know I think I preferred you in the Supergirl outfit." He grinned.

"Don't push it." came the reply through a smile as they both flew down to the roof of Sunnydale high.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Xander asked looking over.

"I'm sure but one thing first."

Suddenly there was a blur followed by a gust of wind.

"Now that's more like it. Made a few alterations?" Xander grinned looking up at the 'Supergirl'.

"Just a few. I was never comfortable showing my stomach so I changed it for a full leotard and just put the skirt on, lost the cape though," Smiling at Xander she twirled around. "You like?"

"Yeah looks good but how do you plan on us finding the gang looking like this?" Xander said looking down at his own 'uniform'.

"Simple they're already in the library looking at us," She said looking down through the library skylight grinning at the shocked faces as she opened the latch. "Shall we?" she said floating into the air again and holding out her hand.

Grinning Xander floated up and took her hand before descending into the library.

"Xander, we were so worried. We looked everywhere." Willow babbled as she ran over and hugged her best friend.

"Xander. I'm glad you came back. It wasn't your fault you know?" Giles said looking over at the two. "Well I didn't expect this 'Supergirl' to be you."

"I needed to get some air. She found me up there and reminded me that there were people down here that care about me," Xander said looking over at Buffy, "I'm sorry." He said looking into her tear filled eyes.

"Oh Xander." Buffy said before running to him and hugging him tightly.

"Now the latest member of the Scooby gang, Supergirl." Xander announced grinning.

"Hi. I think you all can just call me Jenny or Ms. Calendar," She said walking over to Giles. "Your right. We do have a lot to talk about." Looking into Giles eyes she kissed him softly.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew through the library and Giles looked over to see Jenny sat on the table in her usual clothes. Smiling to himself he walked over and sat beside her.

Grinning at the show Xander hugged the two girls tighter. Things would get better he hoped.

* * *

AN: yeah I know I killed off Kendra a few episodes early. Bought 'Supergirl' into the open though.

You all probably guessed who she was a few chapters ago but I wanted to keep the suspense going as long as I could.

Well next up Surprise: part one. Going to be a weird one to write. Never written Angelus before so be a first.

Hope everyone enjoyed this


	10. Chapter 10

Maybe things would get better, Xander thought to himself as he got up for the fifth time that night. Ever since the incident with Kendra, he's been unable to sleep. Constant nightmares keeping him awake. Nightmares where he was the killer, he was the one who opened the Hellmouth. He kept telling himself that that's all they were, dreams, nightmares. It didn't make them any easier though.

Ever since that night he'd been working on controlling his powers more, unlocking more of ION's potential. Constructs came easy to him now, lifelike and conscious. He could create anything he wanted, anything he imagined, but it wasn't like he fantasized about, he couldn't just lie in bed with his personal harem. He knew they were constructs, that they were empty. He'd tried it but couldn't go through with it.

Flicking the light on he looked around his room, he could hear his mom and dad arguing about something upstairs, nothing new there then. Something about his uncle Jack in Colorado, a swift burst of concentration and the sound stopped coming through the door. Using his power's like that came like second nature to him now, if he could think about doing something, he could do it, and that's what worried him. Throwing on a pair of jeans and a loose shirt he walked out of the house quietly, maybe a quick patrol would wear him out a bit.  
Funny, out of all his powers, all his abilities he had now, flight was still the best one. It made him feel free, like he could be anywhere, do anything, but tonight he didn't want to feel free. Tonight he didn't feel like he should be up there, flying with the angels. Tonight he felt heavy as lead.

The patrol was uneventful, a few vampires. Nothing major, not enough to wear him out. That was the worst part, ever since he came into possession of ION's powers. He didn't know if it was the nightmares or his growing powers that kept him from sleeping, it used to be an Olympic level event for him, now he was lucky to get two or three hours of sleep a night. That worried him more than anything else, if he didn't need sleep was he even human anymore, and if he wasn't human, what was he? Laughing to himself he realized something, he maybe godlike but he didn't have all the answers, that made him feel better, not much, but a little. Sometimes however, a little is enough.

The next day at school.

He'd gone home after patrol; nothing major had been going on. It was quiet, as if the demons knew something that he didn't. They were scared, and this time not of him. As he walked to school he let his thoughts drift, he could 'feel' what people were feeling all around him. Shaking his head he quickly closed it down, that was a little too much like invading people's minds. Up ahead he could see a woman pushing a pram down the pavement, he didn't have to look closely to see the pram had a broken wheel. The woman didn't know yet, as she saw someone she knew she sped up, pushing the pram faster. He did it without even thinking, he could 'see' what was going to happen. The wheel would come off and the pram would fall to the side, the baby inside would tumble out onto the road. She would pick him up and rush the infant to hospital; the fall wouldn't be fatal or anything but the woman would be scared of the same thing happening again and would have nightmares for weeks.  
He stopped it, fixed the pram wheel with a thought. It felt good, she never knew what happened. He watched as she pushed the pram over the road and met up with her friend, she would never know what had happened.  
Smiling to himself he carried on to school with a smile on his face, maybe helping Buffy was important but the little things are important as well. They were the things that made life worth living.

As he walked through the school yard he could see willow talking to someone, he'd seen him about before. He was fiddling with a guitar and talking to her in a cool way; she was blushing and babbling a bit. Some things never changed, he thought to himself as he walked into the school. And that's just fine with me.

Walking through the entrance he saw Cordelia opening her locker, she looked nice today. Then again when doesn't she look nice? Smiling to himself he walked on by, ignoring the look's he was receiving from people. He'd felt happy this morning, like a weight had been lifted from him. So to bring up his mood further he'd taken special effort in his clothes, some black jeans. A tight black t-shirt with a green logo on the front, topped off with the brightest green shirt he owned. The ensemble looked hideous, but it made him feel better about himself.

"Ahh, good morning. Everything in order for the party?" Giles asked as he came round the corner with a pile of papers.

"Absolutely, everything good on you end? I did a quick patrol last night, very quiet out there." Looking round to make sure Buffy was nowhere in sight first before continuing. "We've got cake, chips and dips, which by the way Cordelia is bringing. Weirdness abounds for that one."

"Yes well... here comes Buffy, remember discretion is the better part of valor."

"Yeah I got it G-man, keep it quiet."

"Buffy, how you doing? Look a little tired." Sitting down I could see she was more than a little tired; I'd be willing to bet she got as much sleep as I did last night, maybe less.

"Thanks Xander, just what every girl wants to hear." She bit back.

"Whoa, chill. Was just saying you look a little worn around the edges." Again, engaging mouth before brain.

"Stop digging Xander, you're in a big enough hole as it is." Ms Calendar smiled at me as she sat down next to Giles.

"Ok, sorry." Smiling back I flashed my eyes quickly, transferring a bit of energy to Buffy. I could see it worked immediately as he eyes brightened and she sat up a bit straighter. "Better?" I asked seeing a look of confusion pass her face.

"Yeah, what was that?"

"Just gave you a bit of energy, you looked like you needed it more than me." Smiling across the table I was rewarded by a thousand megawatt smile. Yeah, the little things are definitely worthwhile.

"Sorry Giles, wiggy dreams last night. I had a dream that Drusilla killed Angel, right in front of me. It just really freaked me out." The look of worry came back over her face.

"And you feel it was more of a portent?" Giles asked, putting his papers on the table and going into full watcher mode.

"Yeah, I don't want to make a fuss but it just seemed too real. Not a normal dream at all, I barely got any sleep after that." Buffy continued. She looked really worried about Angel; I could see it in her eyes. I could never approve of angel, but if he made Buffy happy then that was that.

"You want me to swing by his place later Buff? Make sure he's ok?"

"No thanks Xander, after your reaction the last time you two were together. I don't want you two in the same room, ever!" The remark was said with a smile but it still bit into me, the last time me and angel were together. The last time I saw him, over Kendra's body. "Sorry Xan, I didn't mean it like that."

"I know Buff, it just hurts."

"Xander, can I talk to you for a second?" Jenny asked standing up.

"Sure Ms C," standing up and walking away from the table she ducked into an empty classroom and closed the door after me. "What's up?"

"I've been trying to research Kryptonions and their powers, weaknesses, anything I can. I thought maybe you would be able to shed some light on my new powers."

"Yeah sure, well you're a typical kryptonion from what I can see of your energy. So I'm assuming you have all the typical powers? I mean I've seen you use flight and super speed, you should also have x-ray vision, heat vision, super hearing and pretty much indestructible skin."

"Yeah, those I've worked out. What about weaknesses though? I know about kryptonite but that doesn't exist here, or I don't think it does. Anything else I should be worried about?" She sat down on the desk smiling at me, geek boy comes through again.

"Magic."

"Magic?" she repeats.

"Yeah, Kryptonions are vulnerable to magic and the supernatural. Magic can affect superman just like any normal human." I can see a note of worry in her face. "Don't worry, just because magic can affect you it doesn't mean it can take away your powers. I can see them; they're tied into your DNA now." Looking closely as her I can see the DNA; I can see it soaking up energy from the sun. It's amazing to watch; I can count the stars in the sky at a glance or count the atoms on the head of a pin. Somehow it never gets old.

"So magic can affect me but not strip my powers? What about vampires?" She said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Vampires?" I'm confused here.

"Yeah, you said my skin was indestructible. What about vampires? Can they bite me? Turn me?"

"Uhh, I don't know. They are supernatural so they can hurt you, but you're powered by sunlight now. The sun's energy is burning through your blood, it's nice to watch but I couldn't tell you how it would affect a vampire. Maybe if we could test it somehow, may I?"

"May you what?" now she looks even more nervous.

"Take some blood, I'll grab a vamp tonight and pour the blood down his throat, see what happens." Seems like a good idea to me.

"One small problem, how do you take the blood? I can't get injections or anything like that anymore." She smiled, god she had a smile that would give Buffy a run for her money.

"Not a problem." A grin back flashing my eyes again and teleporting a portion of her blood into a jar on the table.

"How?" she started looking at the blood.

"Don't worry, I only took a bit. Just teleported it out of your system." I close my eyes a teleport the jar home, I'll deal with it later. "It's no big, easy to do. Just takes a bit of concentration, it's getting easier though. Look I've got to run, if you have any more questions about being a kryptonion... your coming to Buffy's party right?"

"Yeah." She looks at me apprehensively.

"Well I'll bring round a few of my superman comics. If you have a read through them it should give you a pretty good idea of what you're capable of."

"Thanks Xander that would help." She flashes me another one of her killer smiles. If Giles keeps getting smiles like that I don't know how he ever gets any work done.

"Oh, one more thing Xander."

"Sure." I say taking a mouth full of coke.

"Sex." She says grinning at my response.

I swear she timed that; it must be a woman thing. First Joyce and now Jenny. I spray my coke all over the desk and wall, covering jenny's skirt in the process. "Sex? Sorry, let me get that." A quick flash of green light and all the sprayed coke disappears.

"Yeah... can I... have it?" She manages to get out in-between laughing.

"Uh, I don't know. Your... you know... muscles... kryptonion now so... I just don't know jenny, why do you ask?" I splutter out, god. A woman asking me about sex, the world must have gone mad.

"Giles." She replied softly.

"Giles?" I query before the image hit's my mind. "Ahh! No, you and Giles, NO!"

"Sorry." She smiles, and the smile says she is completely without remorse. "Come on, I've got to get to class, and so do you."

"I'm never going to get that image out of my head now. You've ruined me jenny, ruined me." I throw my hands up in the air theatrically, truth be told it wasn't that bad an image, as long as I cut Giles out of the equation and just kept jenny. That was definitely a keeper.

"Come on." Opening the door she walks over to the table where Buffy and Giles and still talking about her dream, something about angel and a claddagh ring. Just then the bell goes for class and Jenny and Giles leave the table, leaving me and Buffy to get to class.

The rest of the day passed pretty uneventfully, math followed by art. Which I was still surprisingly good at. Then geography, before lunch. Willow was hyped up about something, something about her and Oz, she'd got a date.  
Willow had a date, Giles had a date, and Buffy had a date. I was the only one dateless. Oh this party was going to be fun. The rest of the day I tried racking my brain to figure out how I could get a date for Buffy's party, Cordelia? She was coming; maybe she would... stop that train of thought right now. It's Cordelia, she would never... I would never... badness right there.

Walking through the school after fifth period I heard shouting coming from Ms C's classroom, classes were over for the day, there shouldn't be anyone there.

"I'm not Janna anymore, I can't be Janna anymore." I could tell that was Jenny's voice, but who was Janna? And who was she yelling to.

"You are Janna of the Kalderesh, nothing could change that."

"Something's happened Uncle Janos, I am not the same as I was, something..."

"I care not what has happened, the elder woman is saying something is wrong, his pain is lessening, what has happened Janna?" the voice was getting more and more agitated, I didn't want to invade Ms C's privacy but I didn't want her to get hurt, glancing around me to make sure I was alone I quickly decided to try something out. I'd tried this a few times, it wasn't invisibility, but it worked for me. I sort of masked the area of where I was with space from where I wasn't. It's complicated, but it was easy for me and it was easier than changing all the bits of my body into transparent bits. This was it was more like I wasn't there, but I was. Like I said, it's complicated.

Masking myself, I quickly 'flashed' into the room and saw Jenny talking animatedly to a man who was looming over her. He was dressed weird, old style shirt with a floppy brown hat and a brown jacket. He looked like a reject from the sixties.

"I said his pain was lessening Janna, do you not care about your people anymore? Your family? Vengeance? Do these things mean nothing to you anymore? You are Janna Kalderesh, of the Kalderesh tribe. Vengeance is all that matters."

"I am not Janna anymore, Uncle Janos. I can't tell you what has changed but I am not that person anymore." she was defending herself to this man without telling him anything, whoever he was he obviously wasn't someone that she trusted with her secret, even though he claimed to be family.

"You are Kalderesh, nothing can change that. Now what has changed?"

"There is a girl, alright? But I promise you, Angel still suffers." She was getting angry; I could see the red burning in her eyes as the energy built up inside her. I didn't want to step in but I couldn't just stand by and watch as she hurt someone like that, she didn't have the control. If she hurt someone like I did to Kendra... she would never get over it.

"A girl? How could you let this happen?" he raised his hand ready to backhand her across the face. Forget what I said earlier, if this guy hit's here then all bets are off. If he so much as lays a hand on her I'll feed him his lunch, his friend's lunches and all their friends' lunches. I could kill this guy without breaking a sweat, mind you so could Jenny now. I watched as she just stood there and waited for him to hit her. He never did.

"He makes amends for his evil uncle Janos, he even saved my life." She was trying to calm him down, I didn't know if it was working but he lowered his hand.

"So you forget all about vengeance? You just forget that he destroyed the most beloved daughter of your tribe? Vengeance demands his pain be eternal, as ours is. If this girl gives him one minutes of happiness, it is one minute too much."

"I'm sorry, I thought..."

"You though what? That you are Jenny Calendar now? You are Janna, of the Kalderesh people, a gypsy." He was getting agitated again, a gypsy? Ms C was a Gypsy? We had a lot of to talk about than I thought.

"I know, but something has happened. I am not her anymore, I'm not Jenny but I am not Janna anymore."

"What? What has happened that could take away your loyalty to your clan?"

"... I can't tell you Janos, I... I just can't." She sat down on the desk dejectedly.

"You are Janna, and it ends now. The girl, do what you must, but end it now. You will take her from him. Angel must suffer, kill the girl if you must, but take her from him." Alright that's it; he's talking about killing Buffy now. This ends now.

"You kill Buffy and I will end you, I could do it now." I phase back into the real world, dropping the mask around me and letting the power shine through my body. "You so much as even touch Buffy and I will kill you. I will kill you and everyone you've ever met."

"Xander!" Jenny looks over at me surprised.

"Not now Jenny, who is this? Who would talk about killing Buffy?"

"I am Janos, leader of the Kalderesh tribe." He replied with a snarl in his voice, I could almost hear the distain dripping of his words.

"Well, Janos. Here's what you are going to do, you're going to go back to wherever you came from and never come back again. If I even see you in the street of Sunnydale again I will kill you."

"And who are you to get in my way? Of the way of vengeance?" again with the distain, man this guy should really back off before I do something I'll regret.

"Vengeance? Please. You think you have power? You think you and your petty magick's could stop me?" I saw his stop for a second. I could see the magick's running through his body, I see them in Jenny, in Willow and Giles. It's not hard to see them once you know what you are looking for. I could see him focusing the power into his hands; he was ready to throw something at me. "You think that pathetic show of power is enough to stop me?"

"Xander, don't!" Jenny said trying to get in the way before she was pushed aside by Janos, she fell to the floor. From that I could see she didn't have control of her body yet, she was a kryptonion. He shouldn't have been able to push her over; he shouldn't have been able to even move her.

"Janos, you think you know power? You haven't got an idea of what you're dealing with here. I could erase you from time with a thought; burn you to ashes on the spot. You want to take a shot here I am, do your worst." I let him think he was in control, I watched as he screamed an incantation at me and a fireball appeared in his hand. I watched as he flung the fireball at me and it impacted on my chest. He threw another and another; if I was human he would have burnt me to ashes. I saw the horrified look on Jenny's face and decided to put a stop to this facade.

Holding out my hand I concentrated and grabbed the fireball and held it there, a quick glance over his body and I neutralized the threat. No more magic for him, I effectively castrated him. He would never say another magical word, never use magic again.

"You think this is power?" I said waving the fireball in front of his face, seeing the surprise as he tried to sy the incantation again and the words just failed in his mouth. "This..." I extinguish the fireball. "This is nothing. I've just changed you; you will never use magic again. You will never hurt anyone again. You pick up a magical tome it will burn your hands, you try and say an incantation it will fail in your throat, hell you try and throw and brick at someone and I'll be there with my foot on your back. You think you know power?" I allow the power to really shine through me, letting my entire body flash into emerald flames. "You have no idea what you're dealing with here. Now if I ever see you in Sunnydale again, I will kill you." With that said, I teleport him away.

"Xander, what did you do to him?" Jenny asks standing up.

"I sent him home; back to where ever he thinks is home. Now what was all this about you being a gypsy?" extinguishing the flames I let the power fall back into the background.

"I don't want to talk about it Xander." She walked back to her desk and looked at her watch. "We've got to be ready for Buffy's party."

"It can wait, Jenny I need answers. What were you talking about Angel for? What is this vengeance?"

"Not now Xander, I'll talk. I promise but not now." She had a pleading look in her eye; she'd been through a lot in the last few days so I decided to let it slide.

"Not now, but I'll hold you to that. And believe me if you do anything to hurt Buffy I will come after you as well. You may be kryptonion but I can still hurt you. If you hurt Buffy I will retaliate."

"Xander, I promise. I would never hurt Buffy, any of you. I need you to trust me, please?"

"Jenny, I'm putting a lot of trust in you here. Giles cares for you, more than he knows. I don't want to see him get hurt, if you're not going to tell me, at least tell him." With that, I just teleport myself back to my bedroom. She needed time to think, she's a good person. I can see it; I just hope she makes the right choice.

I was lying on my bed reading random comics, some old stuff from the 'Zero Hour' set. It was strange, I was reading about a guy whose power's I have. It felt comforting somehow, knowing that however things would turn out he was still around somewhere, in another dimension. Still fighting evil. I let me brain drift, thinking about what he was doing right now. Was he thinking about me? Did he even know I exist? Maybe I could go and visit him sometime, when I got full control of my powers. I knew I could control time, even manipulate it to some degree but it took all my concentration to do it. Someday, someday I would visit him. See what he could teach me, maybe I could even teach him something by then. I was lying there, just drifting when I felt something pull me. It was strange like the pull was coming from far away, but close to home. It felt like something I had done was wrong, but right at the same time. Shaking my head I tried to clear the thought, but it remained. Pushing it to the back of my head I decided to start getting ready for patrol. Maybe it would help clear my head if I did something good for someone; walking upstairs I grabbed a carton of OJ out of the fridge and was about to head out the door when I heard the shout.

"Don't you ever touch me woman, I gave you everything." The shout was followed by a slapping noise then a crash. Then I could hear crying.

"Mom, are you ok?" I rushed into the living room and saw my dad standing over mom; blood was streaking down her chin and onto the floor. He had blood on his hand, her blood. Standing up I faced him. "You hit her."

"Yeah, so what? What are you going to do about it? You're worthless, just like your mother." I couldn't believe it. I'd always been afraid of this man before, this small insignificant man. He'd kept me afraid even after I had my powers, why? Pulling back my fist I threw a punch directly at his face. I'd show him, worthless. Hah. I could kill him with both hands tied behind my back.

The punch never connected, he grabbed my arm and threw me into a wall.

"Look at you, you punch like a girl. Stand up and hit me like you mean it. Be a man for once in your life, instead of being that worthless piece of crap." He was drunk; I could see the alcohol streaming through his system. 

"Dad." I put as much warning as I could into that one word, he just came over and kicked me in the ribs.

"I said stand up. Be a man for once, I thought I'd raised you better than this. Thought maybe you could become a man, turns out your just like him." Him? Him who? "He let his own son die, your brother. Killed by his own gun, what sort of a father is that? He couldn't take it after that so he gave you to us. Moved away, I thought maybe you'd have some fire, some strength in that body. Turns out your just like him." My what? I've never had a brother. What's he talking about?

"Tony, no!" Mom screamed from the floor.

"What? He needs to know. You were never my son; she's not your mother. I could never have a son as worthless as you." With that I just saw red.

"Who am I then?" I asked standing up to face him. "Who's my dad?"

"You? You're nobody. Your 'father'," again I could hear the distain in his words, the hate that filled his body. "Is your uncle Jack. He let his own son shoot himself with his own gun, how pathetic is that? He couldn't take it after that, gave you to us to raise, and moved off to Colorado."

Tony's not my father? This day might have just got better. I'd never met my uncle Jack; he was working in the air force, doing something or other. I looked my 'dad' over, checking his DNA against mine. He was telling the truth, we weren't related at all.

"But..." I stated out just receive another kick in the ribs.

"Get out of here, now! You're not my son, no matter what that scrap of paper called a birth certificate says. Might as well wipe your ass on it for all the good it will do ya. Go on, get out of this house. I never want to see you again."

He let me stand up and walk away; I was in too much shock to do anything else. I just walked downstairs and grabbed by jacket then walked out of the house. I can't believe it, I found out my dad's not my dad and got kicked out of home in the space of ten minutes. Where can I go? What could I do? Could Uncle Jack, no, Dad. Could he ever accept me? So many questions. Without even thinking I flashed into my work clothes and took off into the sky, flying faster and higher than I'd ever gone before. Soon I was in orbit, looking down on the planet. It looked so small, so peaceful from up here. I could see continents and oceans, everything.  
It was so beautiful up here, it was quiet. No sound at all, I couldn't even hear my own breathing. Breathing? How am I breathing in space? Shocked I took a small intake of breath, nope. It worked. I'm breathing, how? Ignoring those questions I shoot back into the atmosphere and land in a cemetery in Sunnydale. Funny, flying always made me feel free. Now it just gave me more questions. Deciding to walk I started off towards the warehouse that we were holding Buffy's part at. I'd be early, so what?

I arrived just in time to see Buffy getting out of Ms C's car and heading over to a truck where vampires were loading some boxes on. Erring on the side of caution I just observed for a bit. I watched her kick the vampires around a bit before staking them. I watched on sneak off to the side with a box, figuring Buffy would be able to take care of the rest I just took off after the straggler. Boy was I surprised when I rounded a corner to see someone stake him.

"Damn, that was easy." The woman said, I say woman. She can't have been older that Buffy, maybe a few years younger.

"Uh, hi?" eloquent as always.

"Hi stud, you chasing this guy?" I watch as she walks over to me, her hips swaying and promising sexy goodness beneath those clothes.

"Uh, yeah. Vampire, but you already knew that." Green energy, violent, volatile. Yep we got ourselves another slayer here. "Slayer, right?" I take a leap of faith.

"Faith, slayer." She points at the pile of ash on the floor. "Slayee."

"Cool, when you get into town? 'Cause we already got a vampire slayer, if fact you're our third." I look down and see the box lying at her feet, walking over I pick it up noticing the cautionary look she was giving me.

"Third? Only one, that's the spiel my watcher gave me before sending me to this hellhole."

I let out a quick laugh before looking at her again, she was pretty. No not pretty, sexy. There are two types of women in the world, or that's what da... tony always told me. The pretty ones and the sexy ones, you can't be both. Faith was definitely a sexy one. "Hellmouth, not hellhole. And yeah we got a slayer already, just on my way to meet her. Wanna join us?"

"Sure, sounds cool." She thrust her stake down into her jacket pocket and walked over to me running her hands down my chest. "Hmmm slay like that, always leaves me hungry."

"Eep, hungry, Check. Well we're having a party tonight so they'll be snackage there." Jesus, I could have sworn there was a spark that ran between us when she touched my chest. I need a cold shower, definitely a cold shower after the party. Of course first I have to find somewhere to live.

"Not that kind of hungry boytoy." She purred at me. Ok, long cold shower.

"Well... the... the party's this way. Come on we don't want to be late."

As we turn the corner I see Buffy throwing a vampire through a window into the warehouse. Shit, there goes the surprise. "Come on." I take off running towards the fighting, jumping through the window followed by faith. Just in time to watch Buffy stake the vampire in front of the gang, and Oz. That's a new one.

"Surprise!" Cordelia shouts out, popping out from behind the counter. Causing everyone in the room to stop and look at her. Seriously, you could have heard a pin drop.

"That's pretty much what I was thinking." Oz replied, damn that guys cool.

"Buffy are you ok?" Angel asks, walking over to her and holding her arm.

"Hey buff, nice work there. Improvising with drum stick, Cool. Oh by the way, everyone this is Faith. Kendra's replacement." I put as much emphasis on replacement as I can, with Oz here I don't want to be the one to let the cat out of the bag. But seeing as he just watched Buffy stake a vampire I think it's pretty much out and scampering.

"Faith, right. Hello, I'm Mr. Giles. Buffy's watcher." Giles comes over, cleaning his glasses for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"Right, watcher. Hi." Faith just steps up to Giles and looks him up and down.

"Oh, hay. Giles we found this, the vamp was trying to sneak away with it. Faith dusted him, thought it might be of interest." I walk over and dump the box on the table, moving away to let Buffy and Giles have a closer look.

"Well happy birthday." Cordelia says walking over; she looks a bit pissed off. I can tell.

"You guys did all this for me?" Buffy just asks, smiling.

"Are you ok?" Willow asks Oz, walking over to him. He looked cool, as if nothing had changed.

"Yeah... hey did everyone just see that guy turn to dust?" Yeah, he'll be fine.

"Yeah, vampires are real. Lot of them live in Sunnydale, I'd give you the speech but G-man it was better at it than me." I'll let Willow fill him in; personally I'd rather take care of this box. Whatever's inside is giving off weird energy readings, doesn't look nice from where I'm standing.

"I know it's hard to take in at first..." Willow starts, moving over to him.

"Actually, it explains a lot." Came him reply, damn that guys cool.

"Hey, guys. What's with the box? What is it?" Buffy asks, looking at the box intently.

"Dunno, but it's giving off weird energy spikes. Be careful Buffy." The box it definitely freaking me out, there's something about it that's setting me off. Can't quite put my finger on it.

"I can't see through it either." Jenny adds, walking into the room. It's opaque, like lead or something.

"Well, Giles?" Buffy asks, turning to her watcher hopefully.

"I don't know... can... can it be opened?"

"Yeah, this looks like a catch right here." Buffy flips open the catch; me and Giles pull the box lid open. Inside was a severed arm, leather gauntlets, chainmail and all. It looked, just like that. A severed arm for a few seconds then it flew up out of the box and started choking Buffy.

"Buffy!" Jenny shouted, blurring over faster than I could follow she ripped the hand from Buffy's neck and threw it back in the box. Angel then slammed the box shut before I threw a shield around it to stop it getting out again.

"Good heavens, Buffy are you alright?" Giles asks as he rushes over to Buffy's side.

"Man, that thing had major grip. Thanks Ms C." Buffy squeaked out, massaging her throat with her hand.

"What was that?" Willow was the first one to ask.

"It looked like an arm." Oz just replied. Cool as ever, does anything bother this guy? Filing away that question for later I started looking at the box, seeing if I could see any marking or anything to trace where it came from.

"It can't be, she wouldn't..." Angel just said, looking at the box now with worry. He was obviously scared of whatever was inside this thing, something that scared vampires, like that's not a first.

"That's freaky. Damn, your birthdays always like this?" Faith asked, coming over beside me to check out the box.

"Well it's safe now Giles, nothing's getting through that shield." I rap my knuckles on the shield to show him what I meant, solid as steel.

"Cool trick man, how'd you do that? And you? One second you're by the door, the next your over there pulling the arm off her neck. Wicked fast moves girl." Faith wandered over to the counter ad hopped up on it, fetching a pack on smokes out of her pocket and lighting up.

"Uh... think we've got a bit of explaining to do. To Oz as well as Faith." Damn, this could get complicated.

"Hey it's cool. I can wait." Faith said, taking a pull of her cigarette and letting the smoke curl out from her lips. Oh yeah, definitely need a cold shower after thinking about those lips.

"I'm cool." Came the reply from Oz. "Looks cool though, bright green. Hey Green Lantern?" he asks, looking at me.

"Kinda, heard of ION?" let's see how much this guy knows.

"Whoa... cool." He just walks over and gets a hand full of nacho's and starts munching. Yeah this guy knows and he's cool with it, he must be unflappable.

"Angel? What is it?" Buffy asks, trying to get us back on topic.

"It's a legend, before my time. Of a demon brought forth to cleanse the world of humanity, to separate the good from the wicked, burn the good from the inside... They called him the Judge."

"The Judge? This is him?" Giles looked at the box with apprehension. He knew what was going on here.

"Not all of him." Angel deadpanned.

"Um, how bad is he?" Buffy asked, standing up from her seat on the stage.

"He couldn't be killed... an army was sent against him, most of them died. Finally they were able to dismember him, but not kill him." Giles explained, never taking his eye off the box.

"The pieces were scattered, thrown to the corners of the earth." Angel said, sitting down next to Buffy.

"So these pieces are being brought here?" Jenny asked.

"By Drusilla, the vamps outside are Spike's men." Buffy stood up, pulling her stake out.

"She's crazy enough to do it. Maybe even pull it off."

"Hey no prop, I'll just flash this thing into the sun and be done with it." Ginning I flashed into my work suit, noticing the reaction I got from Faith and Oz.

"No, we have to find out what Drusilla's plan is. If we destroy the judge now she could bring something worse in." Giles said stepping in front of me.

"Worse than this guy? He burns out the good, how much worse can you get?" I ask, knowing full well I won't like the answer.

"Well there are stories of beings so terrible they walked between the stars like gods, the books call them The Goold. They were demons that inhabited humans, much like vampires, but they believed themselves to be gods. The last record we have of them was over three thousand years ago in Egypt, when a rebellion started by the immortals drove them from this world through a portal of sorts, but just because we don't have record of them doesn't mean they're not here anymore." Giles started cleaning his glasses.

"Wow, way to bring down a party jeeves." Faith said, jumping off the counter with a grin.

"Angel, you've got to get this thing out of here. You're the only one that can protect it." Jenny walked over to him.

"Whoa... what about me? Or Buffy?" Walking over I grab the box, "I could have this thing in orbit before anyone blinks."

"Xander, we need you here to protect Buffy incase anything goes wrong. Angel can take the box somewhere remote, besides we don't know what would happen if that thing touches you. It burns out the good remember? You have a lot of good energy inside you, would that feed it? Make it stronger?"

"Jenny makes a good point Xander; this thing could feed of your energy, killing you." Giles said, grabbing my wrist and moving it away from the box. Damn I hadn't thought about that, if this thing feeds on energy then I could have provided it with a permanent all you can eat.

"Ok, fine. Deadboy get's the box as far away from here as possible. I'll stay here to keep watch, Willow; you take Oz home and explain things. I need to have a little chat with Jenny."

"Ok, Angel. Grab the box; we'll get it to the harbor to make sure nothing happens." Angel grabs the box and he and Buffy leave, arm in arm.

"Hey, what am I supposed to do? Slayer here." Faith grins and she opens a beer from behind the counter.

"Yes well, do you have somewhere to stay?" Giles asks looking at her softly.

"Sure, motel out of town."

"Well I suggest you go back and rest. If you swing by the high school tomorrow I'll see about your training."

"Cool, sounds good to me. See ya around boytoy."

"Actually, Xander? If you wouldn't mind walking Faith home. I would like to spend some time with Jenny alone, if you don't mind?"

"Sure thing G-man. Jenny, we can have our chat later ok?"

"Ok Xander, did you bring..." Jenny asks, even now she can't meet my look.

"Sure, they're in my bag." Fishing out the comics from my bag I lay them on the counter. "When you're done with them give them to Giles, I'm sure he'd like to know exactly what your capable of." I leave the question hanging in the air, from the look on Jenny's face I'm sure she got the double meaning of the words. "Faith, you ready?"

"Born ready." She grins and walks out the door, shaking my head I follow. This one's going to be fun, I can tell.

"So how'd you get the funky powers?" she asks as we walk along the road.

"Chaos mage, on Halloween. He did some mumbo jumbo on the costumes. Me and Cs C kept our power's for some reason." I try and explain quickly.

"So what? You can do everything that your costume could?"

"Pretty much, I'm still learning but I've got the gist of it so far. Flying, teleportation, energy constructs, I'm sure there are more powers but I'm taking it slow. Don't want to do anything too drastic." I watch her for her reaction; see what she thinks of it.

"Whoa... hold up there boytoy... flying? You can fly? Damn, you got wicked cool powers." She's excited by that, can't say I blame her. Flight is the best ability I've got.

"Wanna go for a spin?"

"Now? Damn, take me to heaven." She grins.

"Hold on." I quickly create a bubble around us with a wave of my hand, then take off to the skies. She's amazed at first, looking around at everything. Then she looks down and see's the ground falling away from her, this gets the biggest reaction of all. She jumps over to me and holds on with a death grip. "Whoa, ease up on the slayer strength there. Look, the bubbles solid, you're not going to fall." I smile across at her; I can see the innocence in her eyes. The tough girl act she puts on, it falls away as I look down into her eyes. "See, I came up here earlier tonight." I dissipate the bubble, letting a protective field surround me and her. If I leave it there, close to the skin we won't need a bubble.

"Whoa..." she looks out and I follow her gaze. I can see the moon, it's so close I feel like I can reach out and touch it. The stars, there's so many of them, without the atmosphere to block the light I can see so much. It's beautiful.

"Yeah, it's perfect." I look down at her again. Her hair looks like it's flowing in the wind; I know that's not possible because there is no wind here. No air, no gravity. It must just be a trick of some kind. She looks up at me right into my eyes, her eyes... they're perfect. Soft brown with a fleck of gold, perfect just like her. Looking over I can see the sun just coming out from behind the earth's shadow. "Look." I point over to it and watch her gaze follow mine. I move around to beside her so I can watch it with her. When the sun is just peaking over the earth I look down. She's not watching the 'sunrise', she's watching me. Moving my head down I kiss her softly, I know it's not skin meeting skin because I put the shields there, but it's perfect.

"Wow." She just lets out in a sigh.

"Wow." I echo with a grin. "You know we're probably the first people to do this." That caused a smile to break out on her face. "Come on, let's get back down there." I wave my hand causing the bubble to come back into existence around us, and then take us back down to Sunnydale. Landing in a quiet spot behind the school.

She just looks up at me and kisses me again, it's perfect again. I was always told it's not the first kiss that you have to worry about. It's the second one. The one where you know what you're doing, the second one is the one that means something.

"Thank you." She says before running off into the shadows. I'm too stunned to do anything but watch her go. A beautiful sexy woman kisses me and then thanks me for it, the world is going crazy. Smiling to myself I start walking around the school, back to the side door to the library. It might not be home but I can get comfy there, I'll find something more tomorrow.

Walking in the door I see Willow, Giles and Buffy sat by the table.

"What is it guys? What's happened?"

"Vampires, they got the box." Buffy says standing up.

"What can I do?" there's something not right, something in the air.

"Angel's coming back, he needed to get changed. I had some spare clothes here." Buffy explains, pulling on her hair and letting water drip from it.

"Spare clothes? Huh?" as usual I'm eloquent as ever.

"We got wet." Was the explanation.

"Ok then, research? Find out how to stop the judge and then do it." Seems simple enough.

"No, this book says 'no weapon forged by man can hurt him', as such we're looking into magick's and other options. Xander, can you go and get Faith again. I think we may need her help before the night is out."

"Sure thing Giles." Flashing back into my work clothes, I walk back out the door and take off again.

I was flying over Sunnydale towards to motel Faith said she was staying at when I felt another pull, a warehouse over by the docks. Flying down I decide to take a look, landing I look though the window to see a big blue demon place his hand on a vampire, burning it to ash.

"Uh oh, not cool." I whisper to myself looking down. The judge looks right back up at me; his eyes feel like they're burning a hole in my soul.

"What is it?" Spike asks swinging round to look up where the judge is looking. "Oh bloody hell, you!" he screams.

The judge just raises his hand towards me and let's loose a stream of energy, I try and duck, do something to avoid it but it strikes me right in the chest. It knocks me right through the wall behind me, and out into the river. The last thing I remember seeing is Buffy and Angel come in through a side door before I fall unconscious and the water claims me.

AN: Cool, first part of Innocence done, working on introducing another crossover here so watch out. Cookies all round if you can spot it. (Pretty obvious though, i'm not too good at being sneaky)


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Ok, small chapter but warning's ahead.  
Mentions of rape inside. Just give you a heads up ok, nothing explicit just mentions ok?

Just a quick chapter for the minute, to fill in untill the next part of innocence comes in.

More big thankyou to all those who have reviewed, reviewing makes me write faster :)

Again, thankyou :) Hope you enjoy whats to come.

M

Xander looked around, there was darkness as far as the eye could see, solid black night. No stars, no clouds, just darkness. Creating a torch in his hand he stood up and looked around. No walls, no buildings, nothing.

"Where the hell am I?" he muttered.

"Nowhere." Came a voice out of the dark, he span around to see the owner of the voice but came up empty. There was no one here but him.

"Come on, how can I be nowhere?" he asked, feeling a bit silly about talking to thin air.

"You're outside of space and time. I should know, this is my realm." The voice suddenly coalesced into a form stood in front of him, causing him to jump back.

"What's going on here, outside out space and time? What does that mean?" Xander asked. He was getting a bit impatient; he'd left Buffy and Angel in the warehouse with that demon. "Buffy! You've got to get me back there."

"Buffy is fine. She got out of the warehouse with Angel, they are both fine." This calmed Xander a bit, not much though.

"So where am I? I don't give me this 'outside of space and time' spiel again. I want to know exactly where I am." Flashing into his work clothes he looked around, it was still darkness as far as the eye could see.

"You're in our realm now. We are the oracles, we see all that is and all that can be." The 'oracle' waved his hand and he saw back to Halloween, all the choices he could have made. His ION costume, a Soldier uniform, a batman costume, a terminator, a Jedi... he couldn't explain it but he could see how the events unfolded from there. "That was the turning point in your life, who you dressed up as would shape the world around you. It would shape your future."

"But how... they're all me but... different." It was amazing, he could see himself with a lightsabre, morphing around as a T1000, crouching on a rooftop in a batman outfit with Cordelia dressed as Catwoman. They were all being played out in front of his eyes.

"You are the first human to ever see this; you think the choices you make are set in stone? Every choice you have ever made, that anyone has ever made, they are all played out here. Here in Hypertime anything is possible." The oracle waved his hand causing the vision to dissipate.

"You mean... everything... everything that anyone has ever done... could ever do... it's all played out somewhere?" seeing the 'oracles' nod he created a chair quickly and sank into it. "Whoa!"

"Indeed, you shouldn't be here. You are the only version of yourself that has ever had the power to reach here. There are others, beings that navigate Hypertime; we are just one of them." The oracle simple just stood there and watched him.

"But how do I get back? Buffy, Faith, Willow... they need me." Standing up again he looked around for a way out.

"More than you know, look." The being created the 'window' again showing Xander the night when the judge had blasted him.

Buffy and Angel escaped the warehouse through the sewers and then went back to Angel's house. There they slept together. Xander turned his head away, allowing them some modicum of privacy. Afterwards Angel rose from the bed, almost showing physical pain. He staggered outside and fell in the street, screaming Buffy's name over and over as the rain washed over him.  
Xander watched as a prostitute walked over to see if he was ok, he watched as Angel stood up and drained the prostitute dry. He left her body lying there in the ally, taking her money and packet of cigarettes he walked off into the night.

"What... huh?" Xander just said as the 'window' vanished.

"Angelus has risen again; the curse that held him had a clause. If he were to experience one moment of happiness then his soul would be taken from him." The oracle explained.

"I've got to get back, help Buffy..." Xander turned to the oracle. "Show me how to get back, please."

"Buffy is fine. Angelus won't hurt her tonight. If you want to leave you have the power to go anywhere you want, any time you want. You just have to want it enough."

"Fine, I want to be there. I want to be with Buffy, with the one I love." He said it. He loved Buffy.

"Then create a door to the one you love and walk through it." The oracle said as if it was that simple.

Ok, here goes. Door to the one I love, sounds simple enough.

He closed his eyes and imagined a door to the one he loved, upon opening his eyes a bright green door was in front of him.

"Can I... can I come back sometime... see this again?" he asked the oracle before reaching out to open the door.

"The door is always open to you; you just have to find a way to open it." With that the oracle vanished into the ether.

Cryptic bullshit as always, well it's now or never. Reaching out he opened the door and stepped through, only to find himself in Faith's motel room.

"Faith?" He exclaimed, looking over she was stood there in just a towel, hair dripping wet. She's obviously just got out of the shower.

"Boytoy? Damn, you said you could teleport but I figured you'd give a girl some warning first." She said with a grin on her face.

"But... this was supposed to be... never mind. Look Buffy's in trouble, Angelus is back again." With that he just opened the door and ran out leaving a very confused Faith.

"Damn, that the first time I've had a bloke run out on me when I'm just in a towel." Shaking her head, she went over and closed the door before returning to the bathroom to dry off. She didn't notice the man open the door and let himself into her room before shutting the door softly behind him.

Running to Angel's place Xander had time to think about what he'd seen, all the different versions of himself, Hypertime. Damn the things he'd seen... they were fading from his memory, he couldn't picture what the... the... damn he couldn't even remember what they looked like now. He ran, ran for all he was worth to Angel's house. Where Buffy was, he wouldn't hurt her, not tonight. He'd been told that, but by who... he couldn't remember. Reaching Angel's house he blasted open the door with a flash of power and stepped through.

"Xander!" Buffy exclaimed, sitting up in the bed and pulling the cover up to cover herself. "What are you doing? Where have you been? We say you get hit by the judge then we were running ourselves... where's Angel? What have you done with him?"

"Buffy... oh god... Angel... he's not Angel anymore." Xander tried to explain, words were failing him now, he couldn't even picture where he had been.

"What are you talking about Xander? What have you done to Angel?" Buffy was starting to get angry; he could see the energy streaming through her.

"Angel... when you two... you know... when you two..." Again he tried to explain but found he couldn't make the words.

"Xander were you spying on us? Watching us?"

"No! No, Buffy nothing like that. I was told by... by someone... if Angel experiences a minute of happiness then his soul will be taken from him again. So when you, you know... his soul, he's Angelus again."

"Xander, who told you? Where were you?" Buffy said standing up, wrapping the bed sheet round her body.

"Uh... damnit I can't remember... I was somewhere... with people... I think... when the judge hit me... Buffy I can't explain it, I just know." Xander said, turning his back allowing her to get dressed.

"Xander you're not making any sense. Come on we'll go and talk to Giles, work out where you were and what happened to Angel."

Turning round he saw Buffy was clothed. "Sounds good, I don't know where I was... oracles... they called themselves oracles. I remember that, but that's pretty much it."

"Ok, we'll find Giles and ask about these oracles. See if he knows anything about them. Come on." Buffy ran out the door, followed by Xander.

The next morning at school

"Giles, we were looking everywhere for you last night." Buffy said, walking into the library.

"Yeah G-man, we needed to talk but you weren't here or your place."

"Uh... no I had a prior engagement. May I ask what was it so desperate that it couldn't wait until this morning to talk about? The judge? Is he..." Giles trailed off.

"Fully assembled and working... he hit Xander with some sort of energy, came right out of his hand. Me and Angel barely got out of there alive." Buffy said sitting down next to Willow.

"My god, Xander are you... did he hurt you?" Giles asked as Willow's face flushed with concern.

"That was the weird part Giles, I don't remember much after that. I remember something... or someone, they called themselves the oracles. They told me about Buffy, about something that happened. Then I found myself running towards Angel's house, broke down his door and found Buffy there asleep." He was careful to omit the part about appearing in Faith's hotel room, which they didn't need to know.

"The oracles you say... well yes, I've heard of them. Agents of the powers that be, they are foreseers, beings that see the future. They are good I assure you, and then you found yourself running to Angel's apartment you say?" Giles was cleaning his glasses by this stage, obviously relieved that none of his surrogate children were hurt.

"Good guys, huh. They showed me something else... but I can't picture it anymore, Giles it's like they blanked my memory of what happened there."

"Well they are mysterious beings, perhaps you saw something that you shouldn't? A future event perhaps? If they didn't want you to remember it I'm sure it would be well within their powers to make you forget."

"I suppose... anyway... they told me... no, I know that Angel lost his soul last night. Angelus is back." Xander waited for that shoe to drop, for a long time no one made a sound. The library was quiet as the morgue.

"Good lord, you mean to tell me that we not only have the judge, Spike and Drusilla to deal with but now Angelus as well?"

"Fraid so G-man, no holiday time for us on the Hellmouth." Xander quipped sitting down.

"Buffy, how did you fare? Against the judge I mean?" Giles asked looking over at the slayer.

"I kicked him; it was like a brick wall. Then my foot, it felt dead. It was like a sudden fever... Giles if he got his hands on me..." Buffy grimaced letting the sentence fall off.

"In time he won't need to, as his powers grow he won't need to touch you. A look or a glance is all he would need." Giles explained looking round the group. Things weren't as bleak as they looked. There was a slayer, no two slayers now. A kryptonion and Xander, who himself had the power of... well he was powerful.

"Yo! Guys what's up?" Faith grinned, looking at Xander as she walked through the door. Leather pants and a bright green top, finished off by a loose black denim jacket.

"Angelus is back, I was just filling the guys in." Xander said, he could barely keep his eyes off her.

"Cool, well not cool. Angelus wasn't he pretty bad?" Faith swung over the table and sat on the edge next to Xander.

"Yes, he was the scourge of Europe, the worst of the worst. I dread to think what he will do now he's free." Giles said picking up a book from the counter.

"Ok, we find and we slay. No big deal right?" little did Faith know she'd endeared herself to Xander with that one quote.

"No! We find him, there has to be a way to put his soul back, Giles?" Buffy practically shouted to the room.

"Well yes Buffy, the magick's used to ensoul Angel in the first place are dangerous, they were old gypsy magick's. I may know someone that could help with it will take time." Giles looked round the group and focused his glance on Jenny.

"Ok then, you look into it. Meanwhile we still have school, and Ms. Parker's got a test today in math." Buffy grimaced as she said the words.

"Oh god, your right. How could I forget, I haven't studied or anything." Xander grimaced banging his head on the table causing Faith to look at him weird.

"We'll wing it, or you could always... you know." Buffy grinned wiggling her fingers at Xander to pantomime his using his powers.

"No way Buff, I'm staying away from using my powers for a bit. Every time I use them it seems to be getting easier, I don't want to get to the point where I use them for everything."

"That is a good point Xander, and it shows that you are being mature about your powers. A great step if I may say so." Giles smiled over at Xander, allowing his pride to shine through. The boy had come a long way in the two years he had known him; he was becoming a good man. Perhaps whatever god had given him these power's had known what he was doing after all.

"Oh, G-man. Can I talk to you about something, in private?"

"As you wish Xander, in the office perhaps?"

"Sure." Xander said as he walked into the office and sat down.

"Meanwhile I'm sure you all have classes to attend?" Giles turned to the remaining group.

"Come on Willow, I'll tell Ms Jacobs that Xander's running late, or something..." with that Buffy and Willow left the library as Giles walked into the office to see Xander sat down in the chair, he looked worn out, not physically but emotionally. "Xander? Is everything ok?"

"Far from it Giles, I found out last night that my mom and dad aren't my mom and dad, and then my da... no Tony, kicked me out of the house."

"Good lord, you mean to say that you were adopted?"

"Dunno Giles. The birth certificate say's that Tony and Jessica Harris are my parents, but I checked my DNA against Da... Tony's, there's nothing in common. He says that my dad is my uncle Jack who lives out in Colorado."

"Dear lord, and then he kicked you out?"

"Yeah, told me I'd never amount to anything then told me never to come back. Giles what am I going to do?" Xander let his head fall onto the desk with a thump.

"Xander... do you have somewhere to stay? Any other family you could stay with?"

"Not round here Giles, I mean I've got my uncle jack up in Colorado, or Uncle Nick over in Vegas. Think I've got an aunt Weasy, or Weasley in Scotland but nothing close. Family's always been kinda spread out if you know what I mean, we don't get together or anything like that. I've never even met most of them, just photos and Christmas cards.

"Well I know it's not much, but if you would like you can come and stay with me for a while if you would like? I have two spare rooms in the flat at the moment and your more than welcome to one of them, I may have to move some books out of them first but I'm sure that wouldn't take long."

"Giles, are you sure? I mean I don't want to impose or anything." Xander looked up at him with a tear in his eye.

"Xander, you would be more than welcome. As it is I have plenty of space, having someone else in the house would be a welcome change." Giles smiled down at the young man. He was growing up to be quite the selfless man.

"Thanks, I mean thank you, really. You don't know how much this means to me." Xander let his head fall to the table again and started crying.

"It's ok Xander, why don't you go home and pick up your things. I'll tell the teachers what has happened and make sure they know that you won't be in school for the remainder of the day, if you meet me at my flat at four I'll let you in and we can get you moved in. That is if that's alright with you." Giles turned away as he spoke; he knew Xander wouldn't want to be seen like this. As he turned he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. "Excuse me Xander, there are some tissues in the desk drawer if you need them."

Walking out of the office he noticed Faith still perched on the table, she was leafing through one of his older volumes.

"Is he alright in there?" she asked, putting the book down and looking over at Giles.

"He's fine. He's just had a lot on his plate at the moment... family troubles and such. Quite a gifted young man and he has had so many troubles in his past, but he still puts others first." Walking over Giles noticed Faiths bag lying on the floor with clothes hanging loosely out of it. "Is everything alright with you Faith?"

"Five by five, G."

"Are you sure? If there is anything I can do to help you... I am your watcher now and it is my duty to help you in any way I can." He could see that Faith was upset about something, up close he could see her makeup was smudged and her hair tangled and dusty. "Faith, what has happened to you?"

"Look it's no big ok, last night when boytoy left my room... the hotel manager saw him leave. He figured he was a client of mine, thought I was on the game or something. He came in after Xander had gone and... He tried to... look never mind ok? I'm sure Xander has more troubles than me." Faith turned away, the tears in her eyes making it hard to focus on Giles or the library. She didn't want him to think she was weak, she was the slayer. She couldn't afford to be weak.

"Tried to do what Faith?" The voice carried the length of the library, cold as ice. Turning her head she saw Xander stood in the door of the office, anger coming off him in waves.

"He... he tried to rape me. When I said no, he kicked me out. Saying what use was I turning tricks if I didn't put out." Faith burst into tears letting her head fall against Giles' chest.

"He what!" Xander's form burst into green flames as he walked towards Faith. 

"Xander! Stop!" Giles shouted. "This isn't the way to do things. Faith has been through enough without having to deal with your anger as well."

"Sorry," he extinguished the flames but his anger wouldn't let the power fade from his eyes as he walked over and pulled Faith into a hug. "Faith, I'm so sorry. If I'd know I... I'm sorry." He looked down into her eyes holding her tight.

"Faith, why don't you go with Xander and retrieve his things from his house, Xander will show you where I live. Take your things there and move into the other room, Faith, which hotel was it you were staying at?" Giles asked, noticing the look that fell between the two teens.

"Motel six on highway three. Just north of town, Giles you don't have to do this. I'll find somewhere else; just need some time to sort things out."

"Nonsense, you're staying with me. As are you Xander. You two go now, I'll take care of things here. Xander you take these," he threw his house keys at Xander and smiled when the teen caught them. "Let yourselves in and move into your prospective rooms. The bedroom at on the left has its own bathroom with shower, I propose Faith take that room while Xander take the one at the end of the hall. I have my own ensuite as well so the one in the hall will be Xander's, if you agree?"

Both of the teens nodded before leaving the library together. It would be interesting living with these two, perhaps a learning experience even. Now, to deal with this motel manager. He picked up the phone and dialed the principal's office.

"Principal Snyder, I have to take some... personal time. The rest of the day... No, it can't wait... Certainly... and Mr. Harris will not be in school for the rest of the day... family issues... I will close the library for the day and deal with any work tomorrow... Thank you." Replacing the phone on the hook he went over and grabbed his jacket, someone attempted to rape a slayer. His slayer, this was unthinkable. He would deal with it. He'd deal with it the old fashioned way.

Walking out the library doors he placed the closed sign on the door then locked them. Smiling a ripperish grin he then walked out of the school. 

AN: Ok cookies to Silentbobfoley for spotting all the DCU referances in chapter 4.

Cookies also to Theskelron for spotting the Highlander referance in chapter 6.

Cookies this time round for anyone who can name the rest of Xander's family, and their respective fandom's :)

More to follow soon.

M


	12. Chapter 12

AN: Wow, so many people who got cookies, nearly gave away my entire stash grin  
Yeah, kudos to arkeus, RoseGoddess, drdeth, QOShea and Josh for spotting Xander's extended family, and posting the response within 25 minutes of me uploading the chapter. There are more that managed to spot all my hints but I can't mention them all here, cookies for all of you :)

For those who didn't spot it the family are as follows...

Uncle Jack (Dad) Stargate, Jack O'Neill  
Uncle Nick CSI, Nick Stokes CSI3, Vegas.  
Weasy/Weasley Harry Potter (Sorry I'm not a big HP fan so that's as much as I can do for a reference.)

Well hope everyone's still enjoying the fic, on with Surprise :)

M

"Are we feeling better then?" spike asked as he walked over the Drusilla who is lying on the table looking up.

"Spike, you always were the stupid one. Drusilla doesn't feel pain from her visions, she likes it." Angel says as he walks out from the shadows.

"Stupid? You're the bloody idiot, coming in here when we're so bloody strong. You got a suicide wish or something? Mate, will you take care of this?" Spike smiles as the judge walks over to angel and places his hand on his chest. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

"Kinda itches, in a good way though." Angel grined at the judge then turned to Spike. "What? Maybe he's broken or something."

"This one cannot be burned; there is no humanity in him. He is clean." The judge snarls before walking off.

"You mean…" Spike starts, before Drusilla wraps her arms around him and finishes the sentence.

"Daddy's home."

"Angelus?" Spike asks, the grin threatening to split his face in two.

"I'm back!" angel shouts before leaping onto the table. "And it's about time too."

"Psss… we're going to destroy the world, want to come?" Drusilla grins at angel, snaking his arm around spikes waist.

"Yeah, destroy the world. Sounds good, I'm more interested in the slayer and that bloody ION git. Saw him coming into my place just as I got out, minute more and he would have had me." Angel grimaces at the thought and throws his cigarette on the floor, grinding in out beneath his boot.

"Well they're in the world, so shouldn't be a problem then." Spike walks over to angel and grins. "Come on mate, it's four against one now. They'll be easy pickings."

"Four against one, yeah. Only it's not one is it? They've got another slayer as well as that ION bloke, as well as some teacher that can move faster than I can watch and could break the judge's grip on the slayer without breaking a sweat. So that's four of them, not to mention the watcher and the others. No, we've got to play this carefully. Take them out one at a time, start with the watcher and the humans then go after that green thing, then onto the slayers."

"Sounds good, let me round up some men we'll hit them tonight." Spike grins at the prospect, two slayers. He already had two under his belt, angelus could have his muffy and he'd have the other one.

"No! We lie low for a while, play mind games for a bit. By the time we got for the throat they won't be anything resembling a threat." Angel grinned evilly. This was going to be fun, the teacher and ION we're the only wild cards there. There would have to be some careful intel before going after them.

"Damn, you've really got it in for this girl. She'll be a lot of fun; we'll be a lot of fun now we're back together." Spike said as he pulled Drusilla over to them, embracing them in a group hug. "The scourge, back again. We'll burn this town and everyone in it."

"Burn, burn, London's burning and we all fall down." Drusilla rhymed before falling theatrically on the floor.

"Right love, but we're not in London." Spike smirked at her.

"Some things never change." Angelus watched them play before slipping back out the door into the night; some games had to be played while the wound was still wet. It hurt than much more that way.

"Faith, are you ok with this? I mean helping me move and all?" Xander asked as they approached his house.

"Five by five Xan, I mean are you sure Giles is ok with letting us stay there? It just seems pretty weird, him offering us both rooms in the same day."

"Nah, it's cool. Giles is… well he's Giles. He's always been there for me, more of a father than mine was any day. If he says it's cool then it's cool, but just in case I'm going to give him as much room as possible. Give him time to adjust to it." Looking ahead he could see his house coming up; it was only four or five doors away. "Faith… do you mind if we stop here a minute? Just don't think I'm ready to… you know."

"Hey, it's cool. Whenever you're ready." Faith smiled at him, taking out a cigarette and patting herself down for a lighter.

"You know, you shouldn't smoke. It'll kill ya." Xander said, trying to smile at her at the same time. For some reason it didn't reach his eyes today.

"Yeah, well, slayer. Not going to have a long life anyway, would you mind, you know…" Faith said, motioning to the end of the cigarette.

Flashing his eyes he lit the cigarette with a thought.

"Thanks Xan, want one?"

"Nah thanks. Your life but not mine, besides don't think Giles is going to let you smoke in his house." Xander said, looking her over. Letting his powers wash over her body so he could check if there was anything wrong with her. No cancer, not even a stomach ulcer. She was in perfect health. "Faith how long have you been smoking?"

"Bout four years now, why?"

"There's no damage to your lungs, no damage to anything in your body. It's just… weird, you know." He went back to looking into her eyes; there was a softness there that her bad girl mask didn't cover. If felt better, seeing the girl she was, instead of the girl she wanted people to see her as.

"Slayer healing I suppose, we can heal anything so…"

"Yeah, suppose. Makes sense, wonder if we could duplicate it somehow; get a cure for cancer out of it."

"Dunno, you're the godlike being, maybe. Come on, let's get in there and grab your stuff. Do it quick and easy."

"Ok, just let me go in first. Make sure no one's there, that way we can do this without any hassle."

"Sure thing Xan, I'll wait outside if you want. Just give me a shout if you need me." Faith grinned as they approached the front door. It was locked and there wasn't any car in the driveway, so she assumed no one was home.

"Ok, looks clear. You wait here I'll grab everything I can." Xander said before ducking inside the house.

"Sure." Faith stood there on the doorstep and looked around, nice neighborhood. Little quiet for her tastes but decent enough. About ten minutes later she heard the call from inside.

"Faith, come round the back. We can get the stuff out easier that way."

"Ok Xan." She shouted back before making her way round the house, sure enough there were steps round the back leading to the basement. "You live in the basement Xan?" she said, opening the door.

"Yeah, easier this way. Can go in and out without being bothered, that and my parents wanted my room upstairs for a games room. Got a pool table and everything set up in there. Here, can you help me carry these? Just a few bag's of clothes and some books, nothing too big." He said as he handed her a black bag filled with clothes.

"Xander, we can take whatever you want. Between you're powers and my slayer strength I'm sure we can get everything in here to Giles' without too much hassle."

"Well, yeah. Hadn't thought about it like that. Tell you what, grab everything you can. Take it out to the back yard, I'll think if a way to get it to Giles' from there." He grinned, this way he could take it all. Hopefully before Tony or Jessica came back as well, not relishing the thought of another confrontation with them, he went about bagging things up as quickly as he could. Letting Faith quickly run them to the back garden, soon they had everything. The room was pretty much stripped bare.

"Cool, got it all. You ready Xan? What you thinking? Giant green bubble? Teleport it all there in a flash? Come on, something cool. You've got to top that trip into orbit and the kiss last night." She smiled at him, subtly letting him know that she hadn't forgotten the kiss.

"Actually I was thinking removal van, maybe a truck." He grinned at her before spinning on his heel and walking to the road at the front of the house.

"Removal truck? We'll never get one today Xan, you need to book those things weeks in advance."

"Who said anything about booking one?" Xander grinned, waving his hand and creating a construct of a removal van. 'ION moving Ltd' Emblazoned across the side of the van. Aside from it being bright green you couldn't tell it was a construct, it had an exhaust, doors, bolts, everything.

"Now that's cool." Faith grinned. "Does it run? I mean I thought you needed to know how things worked to create them."

"It works, spent a few weeks up at my Uncle Rory's over the summer. He's a mechanic, taught me all about engines, cars and how they run. This one should run like a lotus." He smiled at her sliding his arm around her waist, letting her lean into him softly before he broke the embrace to start packing the van. "Come on; let's get this stuff loaded then on to Giles. I want to get everything unpacked there before tonight, that way we can get with the others and help them."

"Sounds good." She grinned, sprinting back into the yard she quickly picked up a few bags before running back and throwing them in the back of the van.

Xander watched her, letting the smile come to his face. Slayer strength and endurance sure were wonderful things. Catching up he grabbed a few bags and started loading them up. Soon they were done and heading to Giles' flat. True to his word the van ran perfectly, they got a few strange looks as they 'drove' through Sunnydale but that was about it. Soon they were at Giles' unpacking and moving into the rooms.

"Damn, G sure has a sweet pad. Look at this place it's huge." Faith smiled as she saw her bedroom, built it wardrobes and a shower room with a door leading right to her bedroom. No one could get in or use her stuff without coming through her room first, it was a luxury she'd never had before.

"I know, he was on about selling this place earlier on in the year. Said he didn't need all the space and was going to get somewhere smaller, when he met Ms C he decided to keep it I guess." Xander said, bringing the last load in from the truck and dissipating the construct.

"Glad he did." Faith smiled as Xander came back down the stairs, walking over to him she snaked her arms round his waist and pulled him in for a soft kiss.

"Ahem." Came a cough from behind them.

"G-man, sorry didn't see you there." Xander said, breaking the kiss and embrace.

"Yes, well… I assume you got everything? Is everything in order with your room Faith?" Giles smiled at the two; maybe Faith would be good for Xander. His crush on Buffy seemed to have dwindled the last few months so maybe it was time that he moved on. He would certainly be good for Faith, he could see right through the mask that she put on for the others. He saw it when she started crying about the motel manager. She was a beautiful young girl, who had had one too many hardships in her life. Another year or so and she might not be the same girl he saw today. Maybe Xander could help her see the world with fresh eyes.

"It's wicked cool G, I mean are you sure about this? Letting us stay and all?" Faith asked, pulling away from Xander. She'd had tricks like this pulled on her in the past, normally when the man wanted something in return. She was normally that something. Giles didn't seem that type though, and Xander vouched for him. Saying he was like a father to him, maybe he was a nice guy after all.

"It's fine Faith. You are my charge now and I won't see you staying in the flea pit motel with that disgusting piece of slime for a manager." Talking his glasses off and polishing them, he missed the look of apprehension that crossed Xander's face.

"G-man, you sure your ok? I mean you've got something on your shirt, looks like blood." Xander stepped in front of Faith. Maybe this wasn't Giles at all, some sort of demon sent by Angel or Spike.

"I assure you I'm quite alright Xander, and please don't call me that infernal moniker ever again. I just went to have a quiet chat with Mr. Delahaye, the manager of the motel and informed him that attempted rape is not acceptable in the town."

"Yeah, that's Giles. No one else could use so many words to say something simple." Xander grinned as Giles blew out a breath of exasperation.

"Yes, well now that we have cleared that up. Would you two care to join us on patrol tonight? Buffy and Willow are back at the library at the moment, while Jenny… Ms. Calendar that is, is patrolling from the sky." Giles said, covering his slip quickly.

"Flying? She can fly too? Damn, how come they get all the cool powers?" Faith grinned as she threw on her jacket.

"Faith, if you want to go flying I'll take you where ever you want to go." Xander smiled down at her, letting his arm wrap around her once more.

"Take me to heaven?" She smirked at him.

"Anytime you want." He flirted back.

"I'll hold you to that stud, maybe tonight." She grinned and winked at him before running off ahead leaving a bewildered Giles and Xander looking on.

"Giles, did she just get one over on me?" Xander said, looking over to see the older man polishing his glasses furiously.

"I do believe so, now while you two might be staying in my house I will have to set down some ground rules." Giles said, smiling at the horrified expression on the youths face. "Don't worry. Nothing bad, I don't expect you to do chores or anything like that. Just clean up after yourselves and try to keep the noise level to an absolute minimum, also am I right in assuming you have feelings for Faith?"

"Uh, yeah." Xander looked up at him, unsure as to where this question was going.

"While I understand you are both consenting, keep in mind that Faith is only fifteen at the moment. In fact her fifteenth birthday was only last month." He smiles at the look of shock that flew across Xander's face.

"But… she looks… but…" Xander stammered out, looking ahead to see if he could verify it for himself.

"I know how she looks, but keep in mind Faith has had a particularly hard childhood. I don't know much about it because her last watcher was killed shortly after she was sent here, but please Xander, do be careful. I don't want to see you or her get hurt."

"Thanks Giles. No, I'll talk to her; see if I can get her to open up a bit. Maybe even get her to talk to you sometime." Xander smiled. Damn, fifteen? She wasn't even legal yet.

"I appreciate that, and I will see about enrolling Faith in school in the next couple of days. That should make things easier on both of you." Giles smirked at the look that passed his face.

"She won't appreciate that; I can tell you that for nothing." Xander grinned. "I'll let you tell her that part, I like to keep all my parts in working order." With that he ran off after Faith, catching up to her and kissing her before running off towards the school again, closely followed by Faith.

"Coward." Giles muttered to himself with a grin.

Later that night.

"You sure there's nothing in there Cord?" Xander asked as he closed his book with a thump.

"Just the usual, blah blah, can't be killed, no weapon forged by man, blah blah. Nothing I haven't read a thousand times before in other moldy old books." Cordy said, sliding her book back onto the shelf.

"Yeah keep getting the same here. Giles, any luck your end?" Jumping down the stairs her hopped up on the table where Buffy and Faith were looking through more books.

"I'm afraid not Xander, just that the judge is impervious to all weapons of man. Nothing truly helpful, that we didn't already know."

"Yeah, same as we keep getting. There has to be something we can use, I mean how did they dismember him in the first place? I'm sure he didn't just lie still and let them chop off his limbs and head." Xander looked over at faith, watching her scrunch up her nose at a picture of a demon in a book. "Hey, we fought that one last yeah. Memnoch, or Moloch or something. Dust, don't need to worry about him."

"Yes, well… there are rumors as to how he was defeated. One book by a watcher, a Mr. Ellis in the sixteen hundreds told of a meeting with a demon. He claims he was there when the judge first rose, he proceeded to slaughter his was through most of Russia and then down on to France, where he declared victory as there was no more humanity in the world. Being in France I'm sure he was right in his assumption." Giles paused with a small smile at his joke. "Well, apparently declaring victory he went on to drink every single bottle of Dom Perignon in existence and passed out. This was when the Templar nights found him and dismembered him. Do bear in mind that the watcher in case, Mr. Ellis was extremely eccentric. His other journals go on to talk about spirits of the century and magic users so powerful they could swallow the sun, so I believe we will take that journal with a pinch of salt."

"Uhh, yeah. Right, sounds like a nut job to me. So all we need is enough French wine to get this demon to pass out and then hack him to bits?" Xander clarified, looking a bit bemused as this latest revelation.

"Somehow I don't think it's going to work Xan, we need to take care of him for good. Not just get the guy drunk." Faith grinned, closing her book and reaching for another.

"Jenny, any luck on the curse to re-ensoul angel yet?" Xander glanced over to the teacher who had just walked in and was now setting up her laptop on the table.

"I'm afraid not Xander, the magick's used have been lost to us for generations. Even if we did have the translation there is no way I am powerful enough to do it. The spell needs an incredibly powerful witch to cast it, one with more knowledge of the arcane arts that I have." Jenny looked across the table at Xander, she looked more at peace with herself today, and she was talking about the curse being 'lost to us' openly. He'd have to have a talk with her later, see what she told Giles about herself. Hopefully she had chosen the right side, but he was erring on the side of caution. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

"Unfortunately I must agree with jenny, the spell uses terribly powerful arcane forces. Anyone who attempted that spell without the proper preparation first would be leaving themselves open to possession by any number of demons from the other realms. It's simply too dangerous to attempt." Giles grimaced, glancing over to Buffy who had a tear trailing down her cheek. "I'm sorry Buffy, there simply is no way either of us could do the spell."

"Xander, there must be something you can do, anything. Change him back to human, put his soul back in. anything…" Buffy strode over to Xander, raising her voice as she got closer.

"Buffy… I can't… there's nothi…" he tried to explain before getting cut off.

"Don't give me 'there's nothing you can do', I've seen you fly into orbit, create people out of nothing, teleport people from a building outside with a blink of an eye. Don't tell me there's nothing you can do!" Buffy was all but screaming now.

"Buffy… I'm sorry… even if I had the power to do what you're asking… I don't know how. I don't even know if I can."

"Try then, please Xander. Try for me?" Buffy was crying now, tears streaming down her face as she looked up and Xander.

"I'll…" He started, looking down at her.

"You'll do no such thing, you may have adequate control over your powers at the moment but you are talking about using your powers for something more dangerous than you have ever done before. Not simply flying or creating a construct, you are talking about reaching into the afterlife and taking someone's soul, then placing it back in its body." Giles looked round the group seriously. "Now I want you all the listen to this. As powerful as you all may seem, there are beings out there that make you pale in comparison. The forces of nature are not things to trifle with Xander, do you understand me?"

"Yes Giles." He'd never thought about it like that before, everyone kept telling him how powerful he was. If he and his new powers were only on the bottom rung of power… the rest didn't bare thinking about.

"That goes for all of you, not just Xander. These magick's are far too dangerous to use on a whim, they call upon powers that we cannot begin to comprehend. Do you all understand me?"

A chorus of 'yes' and 'yeah' echoed through the library before Buffy ran out of the room, the sound of her crying echoed the corridors for a few minutes with her footsteps before it was gone.

"Leave her Xander, she needs time alone." Giles said, placing his hand on the teen's shoulder.

"Giles, she's hurting, and you just told her there is no way we could ever get her boyfriend back. She needs her friends."Willow said, before running out of the library.

"Xander, will you and faith do a quick patrol tonight. Hopefully by tomorrow I will have some door key's cut for you, as well as one for your room Faith. Please, do be careful. With Angelus, Spike, Drusilla and the judge about tonight, we must all be on our toes."

"Sure thing G, Come on Xan." Faith grinned, research never was her style.

"Ok Giles, let me know if you find out anything ok?" Xander said, before they both left the library.

"Now Jenny, you said you had more to tell me about your past?" Giles said, before taking a seat next to her.

AN: ok, just a quick upload here. Wanted to get a bit more humanity into the scoobies, I was a bit worried about making them too powerful.  
Hopefully this chapter helps explain a bit about what I plan to do, Xander maybe all powerful but underneath that he is still Xander and still human.  
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, more to come soon :)

M


	13. Chapter 13

"Buffy, come on. Buffy, where are you?" Willow shouts as she runs through the high school corridors.

"Think she went that was Willow." Angelus steps out of the shadows, pointing to the doors leading to the gym.

"Uh... thanks Angel, I think I'll just... you know..." Willow starts immediately backing away from him. They all knew he was Angelus now; he wasn't the same man they had talked to before.

"That's ok Willow, just let me get the door and we'll go and find her." A predatory grin appeared on Angel's face as he started advancing on Willow.

"No, really, I've got to..." Without finishing off her explanation she took off running back to the library.

"I love it when I have to run for my meals, works up such an appetite." Angel said, grinning into the darkness before running off after her.

"Xander! Xander!" Willow was screaming, running through the halls to reach the library.

"Willow, what's wrong?" Xander looked around as he came round the corner and Willow practically threw herself at him.

"Red, hey what's up?" Faith said, looking round there was no one in the school aside from them.

"Angelus... here..." Willow gasped out.

"Quick, Faith, get her back to the library and tell Giles he's here." Xander immediately flashed into his suit and took off running in the direction Willow had come from.

"Come on red; let's get you back there ok?" Faith held Willows arm as she led her back to the library. 'Stay safe Xan' she thought to herself.

"Angelus, come out and face me you coward." Xander shouted into the empty corridors. He'd run practically the entire length of the school, no sign of Angelus or Buffy. Looking around one last time he decided to head back to the library, maybe Buffy had gone back there.

"Giles, he's not there. Couldn't find any sign of him, must have ran when he saw me and Faith." Xander said, walking in to the library and checking everyone was ok. "Hey, where's Willow, Faith? Thought you were going to bring her back here?" looking round he couldn't see any sign of her, Faith, Giles and Jenny were all stood together by the office door, but no sign of Willow.

"She's right here." Angelus growled coming out of the shadows he pulled Willow in front of him, holding her roughly by the neck.

"You hurt her I swear..."

"You'll do what? By the time you even blink to create one of your green things, I'll have snapped her neck like a twig and be gone before you can do anything about it." Angelus snarled at the group.

The sound of the door's opening made Xander swing his attention round to see Buffy walking into the library, anger burning in her eyes.

Using this distraction Angel quickly moved over and grabbed Jenny as well, holding her just as rough with his other hand. "And now I have two, shouldn't let your attention slide boy. It'll be the end of you."

"You hurt either one of them and I'll burn you to ash Angelus." Xander snarled back, letting the power show through his eyes.

"But they're both so tasty..." Angelus grinned, moving his head down he ran his tongue up Willow's neck. "Maybe I'll just drain the redhead and make you watch." He watched as Xander stepped closer in anger. "Come any closer and I'll snap the teachers' neck." Snarling, he pulled Jenny's neck over to his lips and licked the full length of her neck as well. "Mmmm, tastes like fear."

"Angel..." Buffy said softly, walking towards Xander.

"Dream on girlfriend, Angel's dead. I'm in control now." Angelus snarled, showing his 'game face'.

Nodding his head at Jenny, Xander had an idea.

"Let Willow go, let her go and you can walk out of here in one piece, but if you touch one hair on her head I will burn you to ash and then take a piss in them." Xander's anger flared again, he had to make this look real.

"Oh no, you think I don't know about little miss flash here? I saw her at Buffy's party. Moved faster that I could blink; now how did she do that? Magick? Something in her blood? Maybe I'll just have a taste." Reaching down he bit into Jenny's neck, Xander could only watch in horror as her eyes rolled back and the teeth punctured her skin.

"No!" Xander's shout was echoed by Giles, Willow and Buffy.

"Mmmm, tastes like chicken." He broke off for a second before turning to the rest of them, Jenny's blood dripping down his chin.

Xander didn't hesitate; he fired a low power blast into Angel's chest knocking him away from Jenny and Willow, Jenny just slumped to the floor as Angel fell back into the book cage behind him. Willow darted to freedom across the room.

"What did... what did you do?" Angelus gasped, smoke coming out of his mouth as he spoke.

"Nothing, not what I did, it's what you did." Xander grinned moving over and laying his fingers on Jenny's throat, good strong pulse, still alive.

"What are you talking about boy?" Angelus snarled, the smoke getting thicker as it came out of his mouth.

"Jenny, she's not human. She's a kryptonion you idiot, her body, her blood, every cell in her body stores sunlight to turn into energy. You just drank about a pint of her blood, that solar energy is now burning through your body." Xander stopped, letting the knowledge sink into Angelus' brain. "I never got round to testing how her blood affects a vampire, be interesting to see how the blood that you drank from her makes its way into your system. My estimate? You've got about fifteen minutes left to live. Maybe more of you slow down your metabolism and let the blood just be digested slowly into your system, that way? Maybe an hour." Xander said, picking Jenny up and carrying her over to the counter where Giles took her.

"You... Argh!" Angelus screamed as the smoke bellowed out of his mouth again.

"I can't imagine what it must feel like, to have your veins burning from the inside out, your stomach on fire, Must be excruciating." He smirked at Angelus, lying on the floor with smoke coming out of his mouth, eyes watering.

"I'll see you bleed first." Angelus snarled, leaping up and across at Xander, only to be stopped by a back hand from Buffy.

"You have about ten minutes left to live Angel, I suggest you run. Maybe you could dilute it with water or something, but staying here is a surefire way to get dead." Buffy grimaced, turning away, not able to look her lover in the eyes as he burned.

"I'll kill you for this!" Angelus snarled, leaping over the railing and out through the back door.

"Xander stop!" Buffy shouted as he raced towards the back door. "Leave him; we have to take care of Jenny and Willow first."

"I'm fine Buffy, really." Willow said, sitting down on a chair.

"Jenny will be fine; he didn't drink enough to kill her. All she needs is a little rest and some sunlight. She'll be good as new by tomorrow morning, but by then he could have killed ten maybe fifteen people." Xander was nearly shouting at her by the end. "Do you want those lives on your conscious? Because I sure as hell don't, I already have one life on my hands, I don't need another." Xander shouted at her before turning and running out the door to follow Angelus.

"Get back here and fight you coward." Xander screamed into the night. Angelus was nowhere in sight.

"Xander, don't..." Buffy shouted, coming out of the door. "Xander, what did you do with him?" Buffy screamed looking around.

The wind picked up and blew some dust through the night, Xander and Buffy just looked at them soberly.

"Angel." Buffy whispered, turning and running into the night.

Xander just hung his head and walked back into the library. "It's over guys." He said, walking over to Giles and checking Jenny's pulse again. "It's over." He whispered softly in Jenny's ear. 

"Wahhhh!" Drusilla wailed.

"What is it pet? What's wrong?" Spike immediately ran over to her.

"It's Angel, the sun ate him all up." Drusilla stop up and twirled around. "Ate him up like an apple... num, num, num."

"Angel's dead?" Spike asked, turning round as the judge walked into the room. "You! You ready? Good, you need to take lives to get more power. Well let's bloody take some then, let's get to the bloody mall and do some shopping."

"Shopping, shopping, shopping for daddy's funeral." Drusilla smiled wrapping her arms round Spike.

"Yes, there will be people there. They will feed me, make me even stronger." The judge said, walking over he held out his hand to touch Drusilla.

"Oi! Mate! None of that shit ok? We get to the mall, you can kill every bloody soul you see, just leave me and Dru alone." Spike pulled Drusilla away and stormed towards to exit, pulling her along behind him. The judge just followed silently.

"We've got to get Jenny to a hospital." Giles said, pulling her into his arms.

"She'll be fine Giles, trust me. She's unconscious at the moment, just needs to rest and recharge." Xander said, sitting down with Willow.

"And you, how could you play with her life like that. Does she mean nothing to you?" Giles shouted, pulling Xander up off his chair.

"She knew what my idea was Giles, she knew the risks. We played a gambit and won." Xander grabbed his wrist and pulled it off his shirt.

"And that makes it alright? She could have been killed, you understand that? Killed!" Giles screamed at him.

"Rupert, not so loud." Jenny's soft voice broke through the silence of the library after a moment of silence.

"Jenny, good lord I thought I'd lost you." Giles ran over and embraced her in a tight hug.

"Yeah, well since you think so little of me, I'll just go and... I don't know..." Xander muttered before walking out of the library, things had been going so well and he just screwed them up as always.

"Yo! Wait up Xan." Faith shouted, running out of the library to catch up with him. "Where ya headed?"

"Somewhere, anywhere but here." Xander pushed open the school doors with force, causing them to bounce back off the railings outside. "He hates me, I knew what I was doing and he just threw it back in my face."

"He doesn't hate you Xan; he just thought he'd lost the woman he loves. That's bound to make anyone a little screwy." Faith grinned, speeding up a bit to keep up with the taller teen.

"I guess, it just hurt, you know. That he didn't trust me enough when I told him she was going to be alright. It hurt that he didn't believe in me." Xander stopped walking looked over at Faith.

"He trusts you Xan; it's just going to take a little while for them to get over this. I mean you just killed Buffy's boyfriend and Giles just thought he had lost his girlfriend. It's gonna take some time." Faith smiled, pulling Xander into a hug.

"Thanks Faith." Xander whispered into her ear.

"Now, how about we hit the mall, I need some wicked new pants and you're buying."

"I'm buying?" Xander grinned back at her.

"Well I wanna look good for when you take me to heaven tonight." She smirked before pulling him in for a kiss. "I trust you Xan, you're a good man. Giles' will see it too; you just gotta give him some time."

"Suppose, hey how did I get stuck with paying for your new wardrobe?" Xander smiled pushing her away from him but keeping hold of her arms.

"Guy gotta want his girl to look good, don't he?" She grinned before kissing him on the nose and running off down the street in the direction of the mall.

"His girl?" Xander just muttered to himself before running off after her.

Sunnydale Mall.

"Come on Xan, just two more shops." Faith begged, turning to him and showing him puppy dog eyes.

"Faith, we've been to every shop in this mall. We've spent over two hundred dollars, and I'm starving. Look, let's grab a seat at Nando's and grab something to eat. You can go through your shopping there and see if there's anything you've missed."

"Sounds good Xan, seriously though, there's this wicked leather shop upstairs. They have these out of this world pants, damn I swear you have to have them painted on they're that tight." Faith grinned at Xander's reaction. The image of Faith with skintight leather pants on was now burnt into his mind.

"Uh... how much are these pants?" Xander said finally.

"About ninety dollars," Faith grinned, now for the finishing blow. "I swear they're that tight you can't wear any underwear with them."

That was the clincher; Xander just fished out his wallet and handed the money over to Faith. Seeing the glint in her eye he knew he'd been had, didn't matter though. That smile meant more to him that any amount of money.

"You go up get your pants; I'll grab a seat and order food ok?" Xander said, smiling softly at her.

"Sure thing lover boy, order mine extra spicy. I'll get these pants and be right back." She kissed him passionately before taking off and running up the escalator.

"Damn..." Xander must muttered to himself as he walked over to the restaurant and took a table. 

Faith was in heaven, the leather shop upstairs was having a sale. She could afford two pairs of those pants she wanted with the money Xander gave her. Her concentration shifted however when she saw the shop next door.

"Oh hell yeah, this'll give him something to drool over." Faith grinned picking up a pair of the leather pants and paying for them before diving next door. "Oh yeah, definitely!" She grinned to herself, thinking about Xander's reaction to these. Picking up an item off the rail she moved over to the cashier. Xan's got the table downstairs; don't want to keep him waiting. Smiling like a can she paid for her purchase and walked out of the shop, just in time to see Spike, Drusilla and the judge walk stride into the mall and kill about fifteen people on entry. "Aw, hell." She just said before breaking into a run and sprinting down the escalator.

"Block the exits; no one gets in or out." Spike shouted to the vampires flanking him. They immediately spread out and covered all of the exits.

"Good thing we're already here then." Faith smirked as he and Xander walked into view. He was back in his tight leather outfit and mask, holding a green flamethrower. She was wearing a cocky grin and a green crossbow.

"Bloody hell, do you people get everywhere?" Spike shouted. "Good thing our boy's at full strength now, I'll leave you two to him." Spike smirked, backing out of the line of fire.

"Yeah, figured as much." Xander said, taking point. "You know, read a lot about you. No weapon forged by man can hurt you, right? That's you right? The judge?"

"That is correct. My armor was forged in the pits of hell itself; no weapon made on earth could even dent it." The judge said simply, walking forward towards them.

"Yeah, that's what I figured when I saw your arm attack Buffy. The armor, it wasn't cut through like it would be when you dismember someone. The chainmail had been unlinked, leaving access to your flesh. You're not invincible; it's just your armor." Xander smiled, he was right.

"And you think you can relieve me of it? I would kill you before you even got close."

"Actually no. You see I figured out something else as well, 'No weapon forged by man'. Isn't that the quote? Anyway see these? They're not forged by man; they're forged by my will." Xander grinned before letting a torrent of pure emerald flame stream into the judge, Faith followed up with a volley of arrows. As the smoke cleared Xander jaw hit the floor.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" The judge just asked, a smirk evident on his lips. "Forged by your will, you are human. They are forged by a human. Those things can't hurt you."

"Shit, didn't think of that. Run!" Xander shouted to Faith as they broke for the exit behind them, dispatching the vampire in the way and diving out the exit.

"Follow them!" The judge said, marching towards the exit and burning those close to his path.

"Where are you?" The judge shouted as he opened the doors and stepped out. 

"Right here smurf boy." Xander shouted from twenty feet up where he and Faith were encased in an emerald bubble.

"You think that will protect you from me? You're shield will break in time." The judge shouted as he fired stream after stream of energy at it.

"Faith you need to go." Xander said, the force of will showing on his face, sweat dripping down his forehead. 

"Xander, I'm not going to leave you." Faith said, holding on to him tight as another energy blast rocked the shield.

"I have a plan but I can't concentrate on it and you at the same time, I need you to go!" the last word was shouted and Faith disappeared in a bright green flash, so bright it was almost white. "Now it's just me and you." Xander said, concentrating on the judge. Encasing him is a shield he dropped his and flew up, dragging the judge behind him.

Faster and faster they flew, high and higher until they reached orbit. "No weapon forged by man huh? How about the sun?" Xander shouted, he knew the judge couldn't hear him through the vacuum of space but it made him feel better as he 'launched' the emerald bubble towards the sun. 

He watched it as long as he could, until the bubble faded from view and it was engulfed in the suns brilliance.

"Never hurt anyone again." He said, spinning round to look back at the earth. "Damn!" he exclaimed, looking out in front of him he could see a space craft, an honest to god space craft, just sitting there in orbit. "This I gotta see." he grinned as he flew closer to the craft.

It was huge, immense even. He was still miles away from the thing and it filled his entire vision. It was sleek, with two struts sticking up and down at the back. It gleamed silver in the light of the sun.

"Whoa..." He said, pouring on speed to check it out. This was definitely his area now. Only he and Jenny could get into space like this, so it fell to them to protect earth from... whatever these things were.

Slowing down he approached the side of the ship. Concentrating he teleported himself inside.

"Shit, real aliens!" he shouted as he appeared in the ship and came face to face with what looked like a Roswell grey. 

The alien made a series of sounds before walking over to some sort of control panel; he pressed a few buttons and then made a few more sounds before a bright white light engulfed them both.

A couple of seconds later they white light faded and Xander found himself looking out from the window of the ship. Obviously the bridge, he thought to himself.

"Hey, Thor here said he saw you on the outside of the ship. Care to explain how you can do that?" a voice came from behind him causing him to spin round.

He came face to face with four humans and another alien.

"Uncle Jack?" He said as he realized who the voice belonged to.

"Huh?" Jack said, confused and eloquent as always.

"Oh yeah, the mask sorry." He quickly flashed out of the uniform and into his normal combats and t-shirt, getting rid of the mask as well.

"Xander?" Jack just said incredulously.

"Uh, hi, Dad?" Xander just said sheepishly as he looked at the face of his father for the first time in years.

"Oh brother." Jack just said before blowing out a whoosh of air.

"I was not aware you had any offspring O'Neill. Congratulations he is a powerful young man, I am sure he will serve you will." The black man just walked forwards and extended his hand. "I am Teal'c of Chulack."

Taking his hand Xander just shock it with a bemused expression on his face. "Uh, thanks. I think, Xander... Harris of Sunnydale. Dad, wanna do some explaining here 'cause I'm a little lost."

"You're a little lost? How the hell did you get up here anyway? You know, space... can't survive in it, you need ships, any of this making sense to you?" Jack shouted at Xander, stepping forward to move in front of the other people there.

"We also watched you launch an object into the star of your solar system, it will enter the stars corona in two earth minutes." The little grey alien, Thor he guessed, said.

"Uh, yeah. It was a demon, attempting to kill us. It was the only way I could think of killing it." He tried to explain, looking carefully at the alien. He did look exactly like the Roswell grey aliens. "Can I see it? I mean can you show me it as it enters the sun."

The little grey alien didn't say anything, just moved over to a console and moved a few... stones, they looked like slowing white stones. The screen shifted then, showing the judge as he was pulled towards the sun. The green shield long since destroyed by the heat.

"Cool, he's toast." Xander grinned before turning back to the group. 

"But that's... that's... that can't be a demon, there's no such thing." The third member of the group said. He looked a little like Giles, only younger and carrying a gun, no tweed either.

"Fraid so, demon. Called itself the judge, burned human's from the inside out." Xander explained.

"I was unaware your world held such creatures O'Neil." Teal'c said turning to Jack.

"It doesn't, for crying out loud. I want to know how you got up here and what that thing was, and I want know now!" Jack shouted.

"Geez, calm down dad. I told you, that was a demon, and as to how I got here... that's complicated." Xander said, grinning. The fourth member of their group was blonde woman. "Xander Harris." He said, stepping forward and holding out his hand.

"Sam, Sam Carter." She said before shaking his hand softly.

"Sam!" Jack shouted. "For god's sake, we just watched his hurl something into the sun then fly through space and teleport himself aboard a shielded Asgard ship."

Shielded, hmm, so that's what the tingling sensation was he got when he approached the ship.

"Your offspring would be an asset towards fighting the Goa'uld O'Neil." Teal'c said in a bland tone, man didn't this guy show any emotion at all?

"I can't believe we are having this conversation. Carter, how did he do that?" jack said, twirling to face the blonde.

"I don't know sir, it's impossible to survive in the vacuum of space. As for teleporting and how he changed his clothes... I have no idea sir." Sam gave up softly.

"Maybe he's an ascended being Jack? I mean we all know they could do things like that, maybe he's one of the ancients." Daniel said, walking forwards. "Does the name Oma Desala mean anything to you?"

I couldn't help it; at that point I burst out laughing.

"Sorry, No sorry. I don't know any Oma Desala; I don't know who the ancients or the ascended are. I'm Xander Harris, or at least I thought I was, turns out its Xander O'Neil. Right dad?" Managing to stop the laughing I turn to jack to see his expression.

"But, Tony and Jessica..." He said softly.

"Were the worst parent's you could have chosen. Look, I've got to go; I've got a girl waiting for me back down there so..." With that I flash back into my uniform. "Call me sometime, be nice to get to know you." With that I flash teleport myself back into space and head down towards Sunnydale.

One thought was running through my mind the entire time as I trailed through the atmosphere, I met my dad, I called him dad. What was he doing in space? On an alien spaceship?

Damn, again left with more questions, help against the Goa'uld? That's what the black guy said. I'll have to keep a closer watch on the skies now. I thought my life was weird, demons, vampires and slayers. My dad's friends with aliens, guess it runs in the family. I let out a laugh before doing a few loops in high orbit. Burn off a bit of steam before I meet Faith and explain to her what I did, how am I going to explain that.

AN: Woohoo, the chapter I was so worried about it over :)

Ok, he finally met his father, and aliens, and SG-1.

This isn't over people, not by a long shot.

Let me know what you thought...

M


	14. Chapter 14

'What am I going to tell her?' he thought to himself as he flew through the atmosphere. Pausing in his descent for a second and looking at the horizon, I met my father, my real dad. Looking round he saw the rays of the sun about the break the horizon, a few minutes until sunrise at least. Better get down there and see Faith before she sends Jenny up here to get me.

As he approached Sunnydale he paused above the town, something wasn't right. The judge was gone, Angelus was toast. So why could he hear screaming.

"Faith!" he shouted, recognizing the voice a split second before he sped off in the direction of the screams.

It wasn't long before he was passing the mall and well on his way to the forest on the south of town. "Faith!" he shouted again, trying to get a bearing on where she was.

"Xander!" the scream came back. "Over here!"

That was all he needed as he shot off into the trees, ignoring the branches as they snapped as he sped through them. Approaching a clearing he saw faith, on her knees, blood pouring from a cut on her stomach. A werewolf was bearing down on her, snarling and growling. Speeding up he flew in and swept her up in his arms before climbing back into the sky again.

"Faith, are you alright?" he asked, holding her tight.

"I will be as soon as we get on the damn ground, how do you do this? How far up are we?" she shouted, her hands moving quickly around his shoulders and back as she tried to find a good place to grip.

"Never mind that, I'm just glad you're safe. Why was that thing attacking you?" he smiled at her, lowering his altitude slowly until they were just hovering softly above the trees.

"Werewolf, Jeeves heard that there had been one attacking people at nights. He was going to ask you and Buffy to take care of it but with the judge and all… I got stuck with it." She grinned; obviously happy he was here but not wanting to show her appreciation.

"So he sent you out here with no protection? What about Buffy or Jenny? Couldn't they have come with you?" Slowly he sat them down in the forest, creating a bubble shield around them in case the werewolf came back.

"No one's seen B since she took off, and Ms C's still recovering from when Angelus bit her."

"Wait, what do you mean no one's seen her? She didn't come back?" Xander said, worried now. Just as he was about to ask more a loud growl came from the shadows of the trees. "Werewolf, right." Xander rolled his eyes; didn't he get a break, ever?

"Giles gave me a tranq gun, but I kinda lost it." Faith said, sheepishly.

"You lost it?" Xander said, spinning round to face her.

"Well, it bit it and… well it kind of snapped so I threw it at him. Seemed like a good idea at the time, besides I was never into guns. Give me a knife or a sword any day." The grin on Faith's face was pure slayer, predatory and sexy.

"Well we don't have either of…" Xander trailed off as he saw the werewolf coming out of the trees, running towards them before jumping high into the air.

It was at that moment that the first rays of sunlight streamed into the forest, chasing the darkness from the trees. Xander and Faith watched in amazement, or amusement, as the werewolf turned back into its naked human form in mid air. Before crashing into Xander's shield and slipping to the floor unconscious.

"That's new." Faith grinned as Xander let down the shield so they could look at the werewolf.

"Oz?" Xander said softly as he created a green blanket to throw over the naked boy.

"I'm telling you Giles, I should be out there trying to find Buffy." Jenny said, standing up from the hair for a second before she was pushed back down by Giles.

"You're not going anywhere, Angelus nearly killed you. You were damn lucky that he didn't; now, Xander said you have to relax and recharge. I must confess I don't know much about your… physiology to speak, but he did say that sunlight would speed along the process did he not?" Giles smiled as he stood over her and kissed her softly on the head.

"So you were listening G-man, never knew." Xander grinned as he walked into the library, Faith in tow carrying a naked Oz.

"Xander, thank lord. What happened with the judge?" Giles said, rushing over. "Oz? What happened? Did the judge hurt him?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… one question at a time. The judge is history, he won't be coming back. No need to worry about him. Nice to see you're ok Ms C." Xander smiled over at her as she walked over.

"Getting there. If you don't mind I'll be up on the roof, catching some sunlight, and working on my tan." She said offhandedly with a grin.

"Well, if you need someone to rub in that sun lotion, just give me a shout, and I believe nude sunbathing would be best, topless at least." He grinned before getting a slap across the head from Faith and a Glare leveled at him from Giles. "Or not…" he said softly as she smiled at him and headed out the door.

"Now, if you don't mind. An explanation as to why willow's boyfriend is naked on my desk please?" Giles said, taking his glasses off and cleaning them.

"Well, you remember that werewolf you sent me after?" Faith started.

"Without backup of any sort I may add." Xander said, anger starting to seep into his words.

"Well, here he is." She grinned, waving her hand over Oz's unconscious form.

"Th… Th… This is he? The werewolf?" Giles stammered out. "Well I must say…" he drifted off, looking at the unconscious boy on the table.

"Yep, got there just in time to stop him from ripping Faith apart, and another thing. You know of any demons, say three foot high. Grey skin, big black eyes. Look a lot like the Roswell aliens?" Xander asked, waving his hand to create a construct of the alien he had seen on the ship.

"Well, they do look like the Kip'Ling tribe that is in England but they are peaceful, make the most delightful cakes as well. Other than that, no, it's quite a distinctive form and aside from the Kip'Ling tribe there aren't any demons that look like that. May I ask why?" Giles said, standing back from the construct as Xander sent it back into the ether.

"I met one, introduced itself as Thor, met my dad too." Xander said, knowing full well the chaos it would create.

"Your dad?" faith was the first off the mark.

"Thor?" Giles followed a second behind.

"Yeah, daddy dearest. He was up there along with this… Thor or whatever it is on a spaceship, a god's honest spaceship. It looked like something out of Star Trek or something, but without the hot babes in tight clothes."

"A spacecraft? Dear lord!" Giles muttered before falling into a chair.

"Cool." Faith just grinned, so aliens were real. No big deal in her book, just as long as they kept their probes to themselves that is.

"Yeah, so I'm guessing whatever Dad, Uncle Jack… whatever, is involved in. it's going on right now, and it's just as weird as our stuff." Xander said, slipping into a chair himself.

"Well, I must say this is extraordinary. You have just received proof that we are not alone in this galaxy, you have proven extraterrestrial life. Do you know how important this is?" Giles said, slapping his hands on the table.

"Uh, not to raid on your parade Giles, but dad was up there first, I don't know how he got up there but it didn't feel like magic. In fact from the way they were talking, I don't think they know about magic at all. So if he was up there, I'm guessing the government, or the military at least, knows about these demons as well, only it didn't feel like a demon. Nothing evil about it, just curiosity." Xander said as he lent forwards in his chair to look Giles in the eye. "If they know about magic and demons, maybe I can go public. Do you know how many lives I could save? How much good I could do?"

"Xander, we have talked about this before. I know you mean to do well, but the simple fact is that if you start using your powers to change this world, to change it to your liking, then you take away that that we have been fighting for all these years." Giles paused, holding up his hand to stave off the argument that he knew was coming. "I'm not saying stop saving people, or don't use your powers. I am saying, however, that you must find a place for you and your powers without displacing the people of the world. You cannot keep them, us, like pets. Human beings must be free to make their own mistakes, live their own lives, surely you can accept that."

"But I could do so much good, I mean, I know I'm doing good here but all you have to do is turn on the news to see what's going on, out there. War's, famine, terrorists, I could stop all that." Xander said, waving his hands for emphasis.

"And where does it stop? Does it stop when everyone lives by your rules? By your standards? You may have great power but even you don't have the right to tell people how they should live their lives. I'm not saying stop what you are doing here because you are doing good, but you can't live their lives for them, if you do that then they stop being free, they become kept. Is that what you want?" Giles stopped, seeing that his words had made Xander think.

"Kandor." Xander muttered softly before walking out of the library.

"Kandor?" Giles repeated, looking over at Faith for more information.

"No idea." She said, smiling across the table at him.

"Ow." Oz muttered, sitting up on the table.

"Ah, Mister Osborne, I trust you are well?" Giles asked, moving around the table so he could face the teen.

"Uh, yeah, what happened?" Oz asked, looking round the library with a bemused look on his face. "Library? Huh."

"Yes, you attacked Faith last night. May I ask, how long have you been a werewolf?" Giles smiled as he saw the look of puzzlement on his face.

"Sheesh, tact like that I'm glad you're a librarian, would have made a lousy psychiatrist." Faith grinned, slumping down in a chair.

"Are you ok?" Jenny asks, as she flies up next to him.

"Huh? Sorry, miles away." Xander smiled at her, creating a bench for them both to sit on.

"I asked if you were ok? I saw the green streak head up here, figured you might want someone to talk to." She smiled and sat down next to him, laying her hand on his shoulder.

"Giles… he pointed some things out, how do you do it? Keep on going with the small things when there is so much out there you… we, could be doing. We could really make a difference; instead we're here, in Sunnydale, fighting the small fight. Out there," Xander paused, waving his hand at the horizon. "There's so much more, so much more we could do to help."

Jenny smiled, looking out to the horizon as the sun steamed across the town. "And what did Giles say?"

Xander let loose a small laugh. "He said I had to find my own place. That I shouldn't try to do everything because then people go from being saved to being kept."

"You should listen to him, he may not have our powers, but in his own way he is the most powerful of us all. He knows when we should intervene, if there was something we should do, he would tell us. In all the time you've known him, has he ever steered you wrong?" she asked, her blue eyes staring into his green.

"No, I know your right. It's just… I saw something today, something big, bigger than me or you. I just want to know that I'm fighting the right fight."

"I can't tell you that Xander; all I can say is that we fight what we can. We were given these powers for a reason, whether it's to fight vampires like Buffy and Faith, or to fight bigger things out there. We all have to make our own choices. We can't tell people what to think, or what to do. We have to let them make their own mistakes; we can just be there to help them if they need it." Jenny smiled at Xander as he looked upwards.

"That's pretty much what Giles said." Xander grinned, looking back into her eyes.

"And what did you say to that?" she asked, smiling back at him.

"Kandor." He replied simply before jumping off the bench and flying up into the atmosphere.

"Kandor?" she whispered softly as the bench disappeared. "What's Kandor?" she shouted, flying up as fast as she could to catch up with him.

Xander smiled as he left earth's atmosphere. Looking round the ship was nowhere to be seen, not a trace of it anywhere. He opened his mind, trying to find the ship with his new senses. It was still a new trick to him but he had been using it quite successfully to locate vampires and demons, as long as he concentrated.

"What's Kandor?" a voice broke his concentration. Spinning round he saw Jenny there, floating beside him. "Wow, I've never been up this high before."

Xander just smiled at her, tapping his ears to signify he couldn't hear her. Holding out his hand he quickly created an earpiece and microphone for her and handed in over before creating one in his ear.

"No air, nothing for the sound to travel through up here." He grinned as he saw her blush.

"Ok, got me there. This is amazing, it's beautiful, I've never been up this high before, are we in space?" She gasped, looking down at the planet beneath them. 

"Yep, just out of the atmosphere. Don't ask how you're breathing because I haven't the foggiest, I'm breathing through my shield, it creates oxygen from me and protects me from space. Superman and other Kryptonions don't seem to need any suit or shield. They can just do it naturally, as long as you stay near a yellow sun." Xander explained to the bewildered Jenny, she was still admiring the view, trying to memorize as much of it as she could.

"It's just so peaceful, up here. There's no countries, no borders, just a planet." Jenny gasped out as she looked at the planet.

"Yep, our little mud ball. I was hoping what I saw earlier might still be up here, that way I could get some answers, no such luck." Xander flew over to where the spaceship was earlier. "It was right here, big as a city." He emphasized with his hands.

"What was?" she asked, moving next to him.

"A spaceship, hold on…" as he concentrated he could feel the energy of the ship, along with something else, something that felt like magic. "There's something else here, a trail, I can follow it. Do you trust me Ms Calendar?"

"I think out of school you can call me Jenny, and yes. I trust you with my life, if I didn't I wouldn't be up here, would I?"

"Good point, hold on." He said, grasping her hand tight.

As he concentrated he could feel the energy, he could 'see' where it went. Somewhere in Colorado, he couldn't pin it down exactly. "I'm going to try and follow the energy, not fly after it, just transport us there."

"You can do that?" she asked, amazement clear in her voice.

"I've done it before, well not myself, other people and things. It's getting easier though, everything is. It's almost like my powers are growing, getting stronger every day." Xander said, trying to concentrate and pin down the exact location of the energy.

"Stronger than you are now? Xander, why didn't you say, we could have helped you. I mean, how powerful are you going to get?" there was a hint of worry in her voice, colored by amazement.

"I don't know. If the character is anything to go by, then there isn't a limit." He said softly. Almost afraid of the consequences of what he was saying. "Aha, got you. Hold on, it may be a bumpy ride." He grinned at her before concentrating on the place.

If anyone was watching, or listening for that fact, they would have seen jenny's eyes go as wide as they could and heard a scream that would have shattered glass.

In a bright green flash both of them disappeared.

"Who is the Sam Hill are you?" The shout bellowed through the conference room.

"Whoa, nice landing there." Jenny said, stepping down from the conference table where four men and a woman were sat around with papers. Other men were now storming into the office and pointing large guns at them. "Think you could have placed us somewhere a little more private?"

"Sure, but where would the fun in that be?" Xander said, a cheeky grin on his face while he looked around the room. "Ah, dad. Just the person I was looking for, want to call of the guns before I do?"

"Colonel O'Neill, what is the meaning of this? And why did he just call you 'dad'?" The voice bellowed again. Turning round Xander could see the veins pulsing on the man's neck and head.

"Ok, names Xander and this is Jenny. You might want to tell the guys with guns to stand down or I'll take the guns away, trust me, you don't want to make us angry." Xander flashed his eyes to emphasize the point, almost breaking out into a full grin when he saw Jenny flash her eyes red with head vision.

"Xander, what the hell are you doing here? How did you find us and how the hell did you get in here?" O'Neill shouted, pulling him down off the table.

"Well, I came looking for you. Well for answers really, you see I saw this really cool ship in orbit and a little demon. Just around the time I met my father, you remember, right?" Sarcasm dripped off his words as he pulled his arm away from O'Neill's hand.

"I remember, but this is a heavily guarded top secret installation. You and your girl friend can't just flash in here." O'Neill shouted, going as red as the other man was.

"Colonel! If I don't get an explanation soon I'm going to start with your court marshal and end with throwing you through the stargate!" the voice shouted again.

"Sorry general." O'Neill said, sitting back down in his chair. "Xander is my son. I don't know who the woman is, but I met him briefly on the Asgard ship in orbit. I did mention it in the report sir."

"General, I'm sorry to burst in like this. I needed to know what was going on, one minute I'm fighting a demon, the next I see this giant ship in orbit, I go over to see what's the what and find these four," he waved his arm round to emphasize SG1. "And a little grey demon, I went back to see if everything was ok. I only just found out that Jack was my father, but he's got to be better than the one I have at the moment. I just wanted to make sure everything was ok. Now can we get rid of the guns?" Xander explained, not taking his eyes off the guards at the edge of the room who were still pointing the guns at them.

"I'm sorry son, I can't let you appear in the middle of a military base, no matter who you're father is. Guards, take these two to the brig and keep them under constant surveillance." No sooner had the words left the general's lips than a bright green flash enveloped all the guns before they disappeared, only to reappear in Xander's arms.

"Jenny, can you do something with these?" he grinned, passing the weapons over to her in a neat pile.

"Sure." She smiled, holding one side of the pile in one hand, and the gun barrels in the other she bent the pile of guns in half, before pressing her hands together. The occupants of the room cringed as the screech of metal bending, coupled with rounds exploding in the chambers echoed through the room. When she was finished she dropped the ball of crushed metal on the table, what were six semi automatic rifles was now a lump of metal, no bigger than a pile of CD's.

"Now, are you going to take us seriously or do we have to start doing that to people?" Xander bluffed as he swung his legs over onto the table.

The general cleared his throat loudly, signaling the guards to disappear back to where ever they came from. "What do you want?"

"I just came here to talk to my dad and find out what was going on with that demon on the spaceship, you were the ones that started pointing guns at us." Xander explained, leaning back in his chair. Winding these guys up might be just as fun as winding Giles up, maybe even more.

"How did you do that?" Sam asked, motioning to the lump of metal on the table.

"Strength?" jenny replied with a smile.

"Actually, Jenny would you mind if I sent you home? I think I've got it from here." Xander said, looking her in the eye to show he was serious. If anything did go wrong there was no point them both being trapped here, this was she could tell Giles and everyone where he was.

"Sure thing, I'll let you know if we find Buffy. Nice to meet all of you." She smiled before Xander flashed her back into orbit.

"Wh… Where did she go?" Sam asked, looking round the room. "Do you have transporter technology like the Asgard? A ship?"

"Whoa… no, no transporter technology, I just sent her home. No big deal." Xander grinned at the shocked faces in the room.

"You mean you can do that without any form of technology at all?" Daniel asked.

"Uh, yeah, didn't I just say that?" Xander asked, looking towards his dad who was having trouble hiding a grin.

"Colonel, what do you suggest we do with this situation?" The general asked slowly, taking deep breaths at the end.

"He's an ascended, has to be." Daniel pointed out.

"Still don't know what that is." Xander said back to him.

"He's not ascended, he's my son." Jack snapped angrily. "I have no idea how he did those things but he is not ascended. Xander," he looked at his son. "How did you do that? And how were you in orbit? And what the hell has this got to do with demons?"

"Ok, one thing at a time ok? One, I did them using my powers, don't ask for any more because that's the only explanation you are going to get until I know you better. Two, I flew. Three, isn't that was the little grey thing was?"

"No! Thor is not a demon, he an al…" Jack shouted, trying to explain before he was cut off.

"Colonel! This project is top secret, he does not have the proper authorization to know what goes on in this mountain." The general shouted at the top of his voice.

"Whoa, good volume, well, if he's not an alien what is he? Is it a he?" Xander asked, puzzled.

"Son, you've got to appreciate our situation here. You have just appeared in the middle of a top secret installation, disarmed six of our guards and then sent your accomplice back to where ever you came from. This isn't commonplace, even for this installation." The general tried to placate Xander. "now, if you would like to talk with us some more, maybe we can come to an understanding, maybe even help each other." Whatever the general was about to follow up with was cut off by a loud klaxon going off.

"UNAUTHORISED OFFWORLD ACTVATION"

"Not now!" Jack shouted, unholstering his sidearm as he rushed to the stairs and ran down them, followed closely by Sam, Daniel and Teal'c.

"Close the iris." The general barked as he stepped into the command room. "Do we have a signal?"

"Yes sir, it's the Tollan." The airman said, nonplussed as Xander walked down the stairs in his full uniform, including mask. 

"Open the iris, gentlemen." The general said, marching out of the room and down the stairs to the gate room.

"Come on, now for the show and tell." O'Neill said, slapping Xander on the back before guiding him down to the gate room.

As they arrived the gate was spinning, Xander just looked at the monument with amazement. "Whoa."

"Just what I said first time I saw it, just wait, the best stuff comes in a second." O'Neill grinned, waiting to see his son's reaction to the gate in action.

As the last symbol lit up the gate burst into action, the whoosh of unstable energy flashed out into the room before being pulled back into the gate and stabilizing into the shimmering wall.

"Fuck!" Xander shouted, startled he stumbled back a few feet, bumping into Teal'c.

"Are you well XanderO'Neill?" Teal'c asked, helping his stabilize his feet.

"Uh yeah, thanks. Just… wow… what is that thing?" Xander asked, stepping forward again hesitantly.

"It's called the stargate, or Chappai'ai, it's a form of transport that allows you to move anywhere in the gate network instantaneously." Daniel explained.

"Gate network?" Xander asked, confused as three beings walked out of the stargate.

"Greetings General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill." The being said as it walked down the ramp from the stargate.  
"High chancellor Travell, how can we help? I thought all the technology had been recovered." Daniel said, stepping forward from the group.

"It has, we were talking with the Asgard and they told us of the unusual being that came aboard their ship while they were in orbit. We came to see if there was anything we could do to assist you in this matter as you helped us with the problem of the technology thefts." Travell said as he approached Daniel.

"Uh, that was me. Sorry, didn't mean to spook them, or you. I was just… you know…" Xander trailed off as he noticed the stares coming from the group.

"Well, if the matter has been resolved then I will return to Tolanna. If you do need our help for anything, do contact us, General." With that said, the general nodded to the glass wall behind and above him, signaling for the gate to dial Tolanna.

"Well you could give us some of that fancy technology." O'Neill said, smiling softly.

"You know full well our stance on that. We will not give technology to inferior races; it would unfair to you and the other countries on your planet. I am sorry but that is the last word on the matter." Travell said, almost coldly.

"Why unfair to us?" Xander said, stepping forward.

"Xander!" O'Neill hissed under his breath.

"You say it is unfair to us but why?" He asked again.

"If we were to give you technology beyond your own, you could use it to destroy yourselves or destroy other planets in this galaxy. If we were to give you the capability to do that, then we would be responsible for your actions after the fact. We cannot have that on our conscious again, it has happened once, we will not let it happen again." Travell explained to him.

"You say it like you know we would use it to destroy ourselves, why don't you let us choose our actions for ourselves, in the end that is all we can do. Just allow the younger races to evolve and choose their own path." Xander said, stepping forward from the group, ignoring the whispers behind him. "You say that you are responsible for their actions once you give them the technology, why can't they be responsible for their own actions?"

"I don't believe we have met. I am High Councilor Travell of the Tollan, and you are?" Travell asked, a little shaken by his words.

"Ion, of the OA'n." The lie slid easily off his lips.

"And did the Tau'ri rogue group steal technology from your race as well Mr. Ion?" Travell asked, a bit more arrogance flowing into his voice as he spoke.

"Just Ion, and no. they did not steal technology from us. I am here as a representative from my planet to help in the safeguarding of earth, this planet is now under the protection of the Guardians of OA." Xander said loudly, letting the power shine out of his eyes.

"You are just one man; you believe you can safeguard this planet from the Goa'uld and their other enemies?" Travel said, stepping back as the energy crackled along his skin.

"No, but I believe that they have the right to make their own choices. If we start making their choices for them then we take away their freedom, that is what people fight for, is it not?" Xander said, anger now starting to seep into his voice.

"Yes, we oppose the Goa'uld; we fight for freedom but…"

"But you leave the younger races to fend for themselves? Is that the act of a 'higher' civilization? If the people of earth are ever truly going to grow then they need the chance to do so on their own. Make their own mistakes, live by their own rules. That is the greatest gift we can give them." Xander said, confident he had said his piece.

"You make a compelling argument Ion, I must think upon it some more. General Hammond, may I request another meeting with you and Ion in a few days. What he has said has given me much to think about, maybe we can come to some agreement for non lethal technology, such as shields and weapons disablers, if that would be of assistance to you in your fight against the Goa'uld?" Travel said, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"I believe that would be of some help, thank you. You are welcome to return at any time high chancellor." General Hammond said, smiling as he watched the high chancellor walk up the ramp towards the gate.

As he watched the man disappear through the gate, Xander wiped his brow with his hand. "Now, that was a bluff to end all bluffs." He grinned at the group.

"Where did you come up with all that stuff?" O'Neill smiled, patting his son on the shoulder.

"Babylon five and comics, you wouldn't believe me if I told you I was a geek would you?" he grinned at the shocked faces, "Didn't think so." He said as he flashed back into his normal clothes.

"Now, can we finally talk about what we are going to do about you and what you now know?" Hammond said, a bit happier now that O'Neill's son had solved one of their biggest problems with the oversight committee.

"Sure, but what are these Tau'ri or Goa'uld? Think I might have to know these things if I'm going to talk to that guy again." Xander smiled as they walked back up to the room where he had first appeared.

"All in good time son, all in good time." Hammond smiled. "But what is with the costume?"

Xander Laughed as he looked at the smile on Hammond's face, the same smile was on Jack's, Sam's and Daniels. Teal'c simply had an eyebrow raised.

"You girlfriend? Supergirl fetish?" Daniel asked, causing Xander to laugh even harder.

Maybe he would fit in here after all; at least he could do some good here for a while before heading back to Sunnydale. Maybe even make a difference,

AN: ok, sorry it's been so long. Updates should be more often now I've got everything settled down.  
Real life just took a priority for a bit. Hope it was worth it.

M 


	15. Chapter 15

"So, interested in helping us?" Jack asked, looking across the table to where Xander was sat, slack jawed at the information he had just been faced with.

"Let me get this straight, you're an intergalactic band of travelers who went out and pissed off the neighborhood bullies, these Goa'uld right? Now they've come after us time and time again, but you've also made friends out there, these Asgard and the Tollan. You go through this stargate and explore?" Xander said, still trying to absorb it all.

"Pretty much, I still don't understand where you got your flashy powers from though. You mentioned something about a Halloween costume but that was it, care to elaborate?" Daniel asked as he tidied up the papers on the table.

"No, that's not just my secret but others as well. I'll have to talk to them first, if they say yes, then I'll tell you all. What I still don't get is how you have kept all of this a secret, I mean, aliens, wow." Xander grinned as he looked at the faces around the table. These four people had been to other planets, faced off aliens. His dad had faced off aliens, how cool is that.

"I'm not going to lie to you son, it was tough going here and there. But we've pulled through, we have come to attention of a few of the major system lords though and now they want us out of the way. Especially after killing Ra and Apophis, not to mention a few other minor Goa'uld." Hammond explained.

"The point is, the secrets out. We are out there in the galaxy now; we can't put the genie back in the bottle. We could really use someone with your powers to even the playing field." Daniel smiled across the table at him.

"I get that, I do. But I'm involved in something here, and I should really finish high school first. I'm not saying no, I'll be here if you need me, but I'm not going to join up and fight these battles. Not that it wouldn't be cool going through that thing but I have other responsibilities." Xander tried to placate the team. He wanted to help, after the stories he had been told about the Goa'uld and how they enslaved thousands of worlds, he really wanted to help.

"I understand son, maybe when you have finished high school you'll rethink our offer. The SGC could really use your help with this." Hammond stood up and held his hand out.

"Thank you General, I mean it though. If you find something you can't deal with, dad… Jack knows where to find me." Xander took the hand and shook it.

"Colonel, would you like to accompany your son back to Sunnydale. I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about, in fact SG1 you are now on stand down for two weeks. Use it well, dismissed." Hammond smiled at the team and walked out of the conference room.

"Well, fancy showing me some of your powers then?" Jack grinned at Xander.

"Sure, you ok with spending some time with me and my friends?" Xander grinned back.

"Is it just me or are those two acting too much alike for comfort?" Daniel smiled as he asked Sam.

"Nope, scary thought, two Jack's." she grinned as she gave an exaggerated shudder.

"Indeed." Teal'c's voice carried though the hall.

"So campers, what are you going to do with your two weeks off?" Jack asked as they made their way down to the locker rooms.

"I've got some old records I want to go through, see if I can find out any more about the Harsisis. There might be something in there to lead us to it." Daniel smiled as Jack and Xander rolled their eyes, definitely his son.

"What about you Carter? Anything planned?" He asked with an edge of hope in his voice.

"Actually sir I have a date on Friday, in case you had forgotten." Sam grinned as they all traipsed down the stairs.

"Oh yeah, that Adam, we met him last week right?" Jack said the edge in his voice gone now.

"Pierson, Adam Pierson. Yeah, we met at O'Malley's last week. He seems really interesting, asked me to join him for the pool competition this weekend." Sam smiled at the thought.

"What about you T? Anything planned?" he asked the last member of his team.

"Nothing O'Neill. I will attempt to find a reasonable sparring partner and Kelnoreem." Teal'c said, his voice completely emotionless as usual.

"No sparring for you here T?" Xander asked as they entered the changing rooms.

"Unfortunately not, Jaffa are far stronger than Tau'ri and as such I have been unable to find a good sparring partner to join with me. It has been quite difficult to keep my regime intact on this world."

"Come with us, I think I've got just the person who could spar with you." Xander smiled at the thought of Teal'c sparring with Faith.

"Yeah, come on T. nice holiday in the sun, Californian babes. It'll be a blast." O'Neill grinned, yeah a holiday with his son and his best friend. Just what the doctor ordered.

"I do not wish to intrude upon your time together O'Neill, but if you are certain…" Teal'c raised his eyebrow as Xander interrupted.

"We're certain, come on. I want to hear all about your adventures, and some embarrassing stories about my dad." He grinned as Teal'c eyebrow shot up even further.

"I believe I can help you there. O'Neill has proved to have many embarrassing stories follow his adventures. It will be satisfying to share them with one of his family."

"Settled then. T, you're with us, get packed and meet us… where?" Jack turned to Xander.

"Gate room? Fifteen minutes?" Xander suggested. It wasn't as if they needed to be topside for him to teleport.

"Sounds good. Meet you there boys, I'll go and clear it with the general." Jack said as he jogged out the door.

"I will go and pack. Thank you for allowing me to join you on this vacation XanderO'Neill." Teal'c bowed softly before leaving the room.

"Ok… now to figure out how to get from here to Sunnydale without going via orbit…" Xander muttered to himself as he walked back to the gate room.

"Ah!" Giles yelled as he fell back on his chair.

"Sorry G-man, didn't mean to scare you, just thought the library would be the best place to appear." Xander apologized, though his smirk said he was hardly sorry.

"Quite alright, we were looking for you anyway. May I assume everything went well with the military then?" Giles said as he picked himself up off the floor.

"Yeah, went great. Giles I want you to meet my dad, dad this is Giles. He's been like a father to me since Tony kicked me out."

"Nice to finally meet you, Xander's told me quite a lot about you." Jack said, holding out his hand and shaking Giles' thankfully.

"And this is Murry, a friend of dad's. He's going to be joining us for a couple of weeks with dad." Xander stepped back allowing Teal'c to bow at Giles.

"It is a great pleasure to meet the one who has taught XanderO'Neill so much about the world; it is a wise man who can teach those with power that they should not abuse it." Teal'c said, bowing low.

"Th… Thank you." Giles said, bowing in kind.

"Now, where is everyone? I want to introduce my dad to the rest of the gang." Xander said with a grin.

"Faith is out on patrol, Jenny is with her. Willow is still with Oz, they are dealing with the fact that he is… well… lunerly challenged shall we say. We still have heard no word of Buffy, where she is or what she is doing." Giles explained.

"Still nothing?" Xander said, worry seeping into his voice. "You don't think anything has happened to her do you?"

"No, since the incident with Angelus the nightlife has been quiet. Even Spike and his paramour Drusilla have been quiet, a little too quiet but none the less. We are taking this opportunity to help train Faith to her full potential; Jenny is helping her with strength and speed while I am helping willow with her… other activities." Giles smiled at the group. It was going to be quite difficult keeping this a secret while Xander's father and his friend were here. They may know about Xander and Jenny's secret but that didn't mean they knew about the rest of Sunnydale's inhabitants.

"Ok then. T, you up for a spot of violence?" Xander grinned as the man raised his eyebrow.

"Remember what I told you about vampires?" he smiled as Teal'c nodded slowly. "Well, let's go out on patrol, link up with Faith and Jenny and see if we can get you a decent sparring partner." He smirked as he saw Giles spluttering in the corner. "Chill, they both know about vampires and the other things that go bump in the night, I can't tell you a lot of it yet, but trust me. They are used to much weirder things than we are."

"Ok Campers, let's move out. Xander, you got any weapons we can use? We couldn't exactly bring a staff weapon off base." Jack smiled as Xander moved over to the weapons cabinet and retrieved a sword and a large four bladed axe.

"Think you can use this T?" Xander grinned as he passed the axe to him.

Teal'c just handled the axe carefully at first, taking a practice swing in the air to test its balance before swinging it full speed in a kata.

"This is a true warrior's weapon, perfect balance and a fierce head. It would do any warrior proud to use such a weapon." Teal'c said, the corners of his mouth twitching in a small smile.

"Whoa, what about you dad, you ok with the sword?" Xander asked, passing the sword over to Jack.

"Yeah, might not be able to do anything as fancy as T, but I'll get by with it." He said, taking a few practice swings in the air.

"Sounds good, if the girls get back here before us can you tell them to call me. I really want to introduce Faith to my dad." Xander smiled. It was a weird feeling, introducing someone to his dad and not being ashamed. That was a feeling he could get used to.

"As you wish, I take it you still have the key's with you?" Giles asked, looking at 'Murry' with caution. The guy was huge, and very intimidating with the axe. "Well, the sofa in the living room folds out into a double bed so your father and Murry can sleep there while they are staying with us."

"Are you sure? I mean we can get a motel or something. It's no trouble." Jack said, not wanting to impose on the man.

"No, quite sure, I believe you will want to spend as much time with Xander as possible. This way you can stay with him and Faith, we could actually have a cooked meal tomorrow." Giles said, holding up his hand to stop any further arguments. "Now, take care of them Xander. Remember what you were like you're first time on patrol."

Xander just laughed at the thought. "Giles, Dad is ex black ops, I doubt he'll need me to look after him. T… well does it look like he needs me to take care of him?"

Giles just looked at the man again; his bicep was larger than his own neck. With the force he could put behind the axe… he could probably decapitate a demon with one swing, vampires no problem. "I see your point; never the less I want you all to be careful."

"Don't worry; I'll see you back at the house ok?" Xander smiled, picking up his coat from the hook on the wall. Glad to see he'd left it there over three days ago and it was still there.

"Ok, try not to make as much noise when you come in, you do have school tomorrow as I'm sure I don't need to remind you." Giles smiled at the glower on Xander's face as they left the library.

"Dad, you ok?" Xander asked as he pulled Jack up from the floor.

"Yeah, just caught me off guard." He smiled as he picked up the sword from beside him.

"T, you doing ok over there?" Xander shouted over, where he could see Teal'c in battle with two vampires. He was swinging the axe one handed while using his other hand to keep the other vampire at bay.

"Indeed, these vampires are much more of a challenge that the officers at the base." He shouted as he swung and decapitated one vampire with ease.

"Glad someone's enjoying themselves." Jack muttered as he crept up behind the other vampire and swung the sword at its neck.

"Dad, look out!" Xander shouted as the vampire swung round at the last second and grabbed jack, forcing him to the ground with the vampire on top.

The vampire didn't stay that way for long however, a second later there was a soft 'poof' noise and jack was suddenly covered in dust with a beautiful brunette standing over him.

"So, this you're pops then Xan?" Faith grinned as she looked down at jack. "You ok there?" she smiled as she helped him up.

"Five by five, thanks. Faith I take it?" He smiled as he offered his hand.

"Xander been telling tales again?" She grinned, taking the hand and shaking it.

"Nothing but praise I assure you. I'm Jack and that's Murry over there with the axe."

"Whoa… wicked looking axe Murry." She said as he came over and bowed slightly to her.

"Enjoy yourself then T?" Jack asked, seeing the Jaffa's eyes glisten with enjoyment.

"Certainly O'Neill, these creatures are more resilient than any Jaffa I have come across. They would do well if they were organized and had training."

"T, better than Murry, well fortunately for us they don't, they're plenty lethal as they are." Faith grinned as she moved up to Xander, kissing him passionately.

"Good to see you faith, sorry it took so long. Dad had a bit of business to clear up first." Xander said, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Just glad you're back, been a bit quiet though, as if the demons are keeping off the street for a reason. Giles is trying to research it but nothing so far." Faith explained as Jenny landed besides them with a whoosh of air.

"Yeah, he said. Anything from the sky's Jenny?" Xander asked as Jack looked at her in amazement and Teal'c just raised his eyebrow at her.

"Nope, same as every night, quiet as far as the eye can see. And with my eyesight that's saying a lot." Jenny smiled, embracing Xander softly. "Glad you're back safe."

"Glad to be back." Xander smiled at her. "Why don't you go back to Giles, have some time together. We can handle things from here."

"Are you sure?" Jenny asked hesitantly.

"Go for it Ms C, we can handle anything that jumps up here. Go have some fun time with Giles." Faith said with a smirk.

"Ok, I'll see you both tomorrow in class ok?" she smiled at them both and grinned at Jack's amazed expression as she took to the skies again.

"Ok, Jenny. Computer science teacher turned Kryptonion. Again, don't ask because I won't tell you." Xander smiled as they headed on through the cemetery.

"So there I was, picking up the contents of Buffy's purse. She looks over at me and what do I say?" Xander paused in his tale for effect. "Can I have you?" he smiled as jack burst out laughing, Teal'c simply raised his eyebrow. "And that was the first time I met Buffy, after that it was all fighting and training, but that was our first meeting."

"Xan, it's getting late. I'm going to turn in ok?" Faith said, standing up and kissing him on the cheek before heading upstairs.

"Ok, I'll be up in a bit babe." Xander smiled at her.

"You two aren't…" Jack let the question drift off.

"No, it's not that I don't want to… but we decided to wait until we're ready. Just take it as it comes, we're not in any hurry." Xander smiled at the relieved expression on Jacks face. A concerned father, definitely a new experience.

"Good, you don't want to rush into anything. I mean, I'm sure you and Faith are great together but…" Jack trailed off, not quite sure how t finish the sentence off.

"Jack… Dad, don't worry. Me and Faith aren't going to rush off and have wild monkey sex, trust me. Giles has already had 'the talk' with me about it; we'll wait until we're ready." Xander smiled again as the relief flowed through Jacks body. "Look, it's coming on four am now; I'd better get some sleep before school. I'll see you both after ok?"

"Ok, Night." Jack said as he watched Xander climb the stairs.

"Goodnight XanderO'Neill." Teal'c's voice boomed up the stairs.

The next day at school passed painfully slowly. Still no word from Buffy, Giles was calling all his contacts, it had been a week now with no word.

"Nothing?" Willow asked as she looked up from her book.

"No sightings, even Willie doesn't know where she is." Giles said, exasperated.

"Mrs. Summers must be going out of her mind." Xander muttered.

"I'm sure, but I don't believe there is anything we can do. Buffy simply doesn't want to be found at the moment, if she did she would get in contact." Giles said, taking a seat at the table next to Willow.

"What if she can't Giles, what if she's hurt or something…" Willow trailed off, not wanting to think about what could have happened to her friend.

"I'm sure she's fine Will's. She'll be back any day now, just wait and see." Xander tried to keep the mood high, but with Buffy missing it was hard.

"Xander is right, I'm sure everything is fine, she just needed some time to think." Giles said, taking a sip of his tea.

"Thinking, right, is that what you did before or after you killed my boyfriend?" Buffy said from the doorway.

"Buffy!" Willow yelled, standing up.

"No, Xander, what did you think would happen? You kill Angel and everything would still be the same?" Buffy said, the anger clear in her voice.

"Buffy I didn't… if I hadn't he would have…" Xander tried to explain.

"I don't care about you're excuses. You killed Angel, you knew how much I loved him and you killed him." Buffy yelled through the library.

"Would you rather I let him kill Jenny, or Willow. Well? That's the choice I had to make because you wouldn't. Go on, tell me. Would you choose his life over theirs?" Xander shouted back, standing up suddenly, causing his chair to clutter to the floor. "What would you have done? Let him kill Jenny? Let him kill Willow? Tell me Buffy, what would the great slayer have done?"

"Leave them out of this!" Buffy screamed at him.

"No, I want to know. Is Angel's life more precious to you than your friends? That's the choice, him or them. What would it have been?" Xander said, storming over to Buffy and looking her in the eye.

"It was my choice to make; you took that from me when you killed him. We could have saved him, restored him soul, but you didn't give him that chance did you?" Buffy shouted at him, standing on her tiptoes to look eye to eye with him.

"Yes, I killed him. I made that choice because you wouldn't, you couldn't do it. Even after he threatened Willow and Jenny, you couldn't do it. Where was the slayer then?" Xander said, not backing down from her stare.

"Don't do this Xander." Buffy said softly.

"No, we are doing this. Tell me, what would your choice have been?" Xander said, stepping forwards into her space.

"You have no right to ask me that. No right!" she screamed the last as she punched Xander across the face. "No Right!" she screamed again as he fell to the floor unconscious. "No right." She said softly as she walked out of the library, leaving a Giles and Willow with shocked expressions on the faces.

"Xander!" Willow screamed as she rushed over to his side. "He's breathing, but it's shallow. Giles what do we do?"

"I don't know… I just don't know." Giles said softly as he walked over to Xander's side.

"I'll teach that boy, his slayer as well." Angelus shouted into the night from a window in the mansion. "Tries to kill me, he tried to kill me!"

"Daddy's angry, I can't hear the stars when he screams, something else is screaming as well, something wails in the night." Drusilla sang.

"What is it pet, what's wailing?" Spike asked.

"I don't care what's wailing, you know the pain I went through to get that blood out of my system? I had to tear a hole in my own stomach and let the blood pour out; I had to rip myself open because of that boy!" Angelus screamed, throwing a chair against the wall.

"Its wailing so much… it whispers on the night… Psss… Psss… Psss..." Drusilla said as she rocked about in her chair.

"What the bloody hell are you on about?" Angelus screamed at her.

"This… Psss… Psss… Psss…" Drusilla said as she passed the newspaper over to him.

"Oh yes, this will do, this will do nicely. Tell the boys we're going out, revenge will be mine, I swear it!" Angelus shouted as his features changed. "The slayer and her boy will die, everything will die."

"We all fall down." Drusilla rhymed with a smile on her face.

AN: hey hey, two chapters in one day :)

bonus cookie for anyone who spots today's guest mention lol

definitly back on the wagon lol

this ones for Tjin and Hawklan who were shamelessly had by me uploading a chapter apologising fo the lack of activity of late.

hope you enjoyed the last two chapters, hope they were worth the wait.

M 


	16. Chapter 16

"Ugh… what hit me? Guys?" Xander asked as he stood up, looking around he wasn't in the library any more. If fact he had no clue where he was.

"They're not here." A voice came from the empty space in front of him. "Or more precisely, you're not there."

"Ok, officially freaking out now. Where the hell am I? Am I back with the oracles?" Xander said, as he hand his hand out to create a sword in it.

Nothing happened.

"Ok, sooo not good. What happened to my powers?" Xander asked, looking round for a way out. The 'room' was completely white, as far as he could see. There were no doors, no windows, just whiteness.

"Your powers are still there, they are in your body, however you are not." The voice said as it coalesced into a form.

"Ok… freaking out here. I'm not in my body and I'm talking to myself?" Xander said, looking at the man in front of him who was a spitting image of himself.

"Correct, mostly. I am you, but you are not me, understand?" the figure asked, waving a chair into existence and sitting down.

"Not in the least." Xander admitted as he watched the figure create a chair for him. The figure was him, but wasn't. Where he had kept his hair short and spiky, the figure had let his grow out. Where he was wearing combats and a white t-shirt, the figure was wearing jeans and a tight black t-shirt. There were other differences and other similarities, it was like looking at a botched clone, something's were spot on, and others were drastically different.

"You're not really here, I'm not really here, well I am but only as part of your subconscious." The figure explained, leaning forward in his chair. "When Buffy hit you, you wanted answers, you wanted to understand it. This is your way of understanding it."

"So I created you, to deal with Buffy punching me out?" Xander asked, trying to wrap his mind round it.

"No, I've always been here. Ever since the night when you killed Kendra, I've been here." The figure said, leaning back in his chair.

"God, I didn't… I didn't mean… I couldn't…" Xander tried to say, cutting himself off as nothing seemed adequate to say.

"I know. There was nothing you could have done, you can't give or take lives. That's not your job." The figure said, standing up and walking a short distance into the white.

"But then… why are you here?" Xander asked, walking over next to him.

"I'm here because you couldn't deal with the guilt of it, the feelings that being a killer created in you. You didn't think they all just went away did you? That you would just wake up the next day and everything would be normal again?" The figure was practically shouting now.

"Well no but…"

"No. All those feelings, all that guilt, all that hatred, it's all here. It's part of me, it is me." The figure waved his hand and a window appeared and Xander watched the events play out again.

'Where is he? Did you get him?' Buffy asked as she sat up, looking round the church as she rubbed her head.

'Not yet. He's in here somewhere, you found him Kendra?' his own voice echoed through the church, Xander just watched as he came onto the 'screen' and walked towards Buffy.

'There!' Buffy screamed, pointing towards the wall of the church where he could see spikes coat flapping.

"Noo!" Xander screamed as he watched the events unfold, he just watched himself fire the energy blast; he watched as the blast tore through Kendra's body and punched her through the wall behind her. "Why are you showing me this? Why?" Xander asked, staring up at the figure with tears in his eyes.

"You can't deny what happened, you can't change it either but you can move on. This," the figure waved to the 'screen'. "Isn't all that you have done. You have helped countless people, saved hundreds of lives, but you judge yourself by the one life you took."

"I killed her." Xander said and he couched on the floor weeping.

"And if you don't move on, more will die, hundreds, thousands, more. Everyone will die." The figure waved his arm and the picture on the screen changed.

"What is this?" Xander asked, wiping his face with his hand.

"This is what is happening right now. You are in hospital at the moment, Faith, Giles, your father. They all come to see you every day. It's been a week and you haven't woken up."

Xander just watched with horror as Faith came and sat by his bedside.

'Wake up Xander, I need you. We all need you.' faith said, cradling his face with her hand.

"What's going on, why am I in hospital?" Xander asked, standing up so see the 'screen' more clearly.

"Buffy punched you before you got a shield up, before you could do anything. You took the punch like a normal human; it put you in a coma." The figure said sadly.

'Xander, we can't do this. Angelus is still alive and he… he's got Buffy. He's trying to awaken a demon; he's going to suck the world into hell. I can't stop it, I'm not strong enough. All I can do is think about you and what happened, please wake up. You've got to wake up…' The voice faded off as she broke into sobs on his chest.

"She means this…" The figure explained, waving his hand again over the 'screen'. The image changed to a fight scene where Buffy was fighting with Angelus. She was on the floor with Angelus stood over her, a sword at her throat.

'My boy Acathla's about to wake, where is your precious hero now?' Angelus taunted her, pushing the blade into her throat.

'Xander, I'm so sorry, forgive me.' Buffy whispered, wincing as the blade bit into flesh.

"NO!" Xander cried, punching towards the screen, faintly amused when his hand passed straight through the apparition. "I will fix this; I won't let him kill her. How can I get out of here?" Xander screamed at the figure.

"You have to embrace what you have done, embrace the power. All this time you have been using it, using part of it. Now you need to embrace it, become one with it." The figure said, holding his hand out. "Take my hand and embrace your destiny."

"What will I become?" Xander whispered as he reached out his hand tentevly.

"A true torchbearer." The figure said as he grasped his hand tightly,

"What…" Xander tried to ask as the power flooded through him.

"You'll know what to do with it." The figure said as a bright emerald light shone from within him.

The figure then ceased to be, everything ceased to be. The white faded, replaced by a brilliant green. Xander just looked down at the object in his hand.

"It's time." He said, power emanating from his words.

"Jack, quickly." Faith screamed as she jumped up from Xander's body.

"What?" Jack shouted as he came running into the room with two paper cups of coffee. The sight stopped him dead, the cups dropped to the floor, spilling their contents over the tiled floor of the hospital bed.

Xander's body was on fire, a bright emerald fire was burning through his entire body. Energy was sparking off his form and his eyes were glowing brighter than he had ever seen before.

"Xander?" Faith asked, softly.

"It's time." Xander said, disappearing in a flash of green light.

"What the hell just happened?" Jack shouted, looking at the bed where scorch marks burned through the mattress and energy still crackled around the bed frame.

Faith just leaned down and picked up an object from the floor. "He said 'it's time', time for what?" Faith asked as she looked round the room for a clock. "Buffy!" she shouted, running out of the room.

"You take away all that, and what's left?" Angelus taunted, pressing the blade tighter into her throat. Behind him, Buffy could see Acathla awakening, his mouth opening and the portal forming.

"Me." A voice came from the shadows.

"What the hell?" Angelus shouted, spinning round with the blade to face his new opponent. "You!"

"Me." Xander said, stepping fully into the timeline. His suit had changed, now instead of the black and green suit he normally wore, he wore something new. The green had gone, replaced by a bright light that seemed to shine from inside the suit itself. The black was now shining; glistening like metal and a green sheen ran across it.

"New suit, isn't going to save you though." Angelus smirked, advancing on Xander.

"No, but this is." Xander said, holding out his hand to Acathla and pausing time around him.

"What, how…" Angelus said, staring at the half formed vortex curiously.

"A little trick I taught myself. Doesn't stay that way for long but it should be enough to fic your problem." Xander walked towards Angelus, letting his body shine brighter than ever.

"Xander…" Buffy's soft voice came from the corner where she was still on her knees.

"This has to be done Buffy, you can't change that. Now it's not him or your friends, it's him of the world, and I've made my decision." Xander said, raising his hand to angelus, creating a cage around him.

"What is this? Afraid to fight me like a man?" Angelus screamed from the cage as he wrestled with the bars.

"Tell me how to stop it." Xander bit out, holding his hand out and igniting it in emerald flames.

"His blood," Buffy said softly. "His blood will close the portal."

"Simple then," Xander said, and with a flick of his hand threw the cage and Angelus into the portal. "Any last words before I restart time?"

Angelus just screamed, pulling at the bars of the cage with all his strength.

"Do it." Buffy said, standing up and walking over to him. "End it Xander."

He waved his hand and the vortex started opening again, faltering as it caught Angelus' body.

"Goodbye my love." Buffy said softly before turning her head, not wanting to watch the end.

Angelus' screams echoed through the building before the portal closed.

"Buffy, I…" Xander started.

Buffy just placed her finger over his lips before pulling him into a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry Xander, so sorry…" with that she broke into tears, grasping Xander's body with all her strength.

"Shh…" Xander just held her, running his fingers through her hair as he faded back into his normal attire.

AN: just a quick chapter her, I wanted to do more but this felt like the best way to do it.

More to come soon.

M 


	17. Chapter 17

"Buffy, Xander, thank god. Acathla, did you stop it?" Giles asked, worriedly but happy to see the two together again.

"All dealt with Giles, Acathla's dead, so is Angelus." Xander smiled as he untied the roped holding Giles to the chair.

"How did you… what happened Xander?" Giles asked as he stood up, rubbing his wrists with his hands.

"It's a long story, one best left alone for a bit until I sort it out myself. Come on; let's get you out of here." Xander grinned as walked over to a door and opened it, allowing the sunlight to stream into the room.

"Here here!" Buffy said with a smile, walking out of the mansion.

"Xander!" Faith shouted as she ran along the road.

"Faith!" Xander shouted, running up to her he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately. "Dad!" he said, noticing jack stood at her side.

"What happened? One minute you were in the hospital bed, the next…" Jack trailed off, the relief evident in his voice.

"I finally chose." Xander said with a smile on his face. "Come on." Xander grinned, as he smiled a green bubble surrounded the group, lifting them into the air and carrying them back home.

"Hey, where's T?" Xander asked as he walked in the door.

"I sent him back to the base, after you were in hospital I didn't know how long I would be here so…" Jack slipped off, not wanting to think about what would have happened if his son hadn't woken up.

"Its ok, dad, everything's ok." Xander smiled as an awkward grin appeared on Jacks face.

"Well, I think this is cause for a celebration. World saved, no deaths, sounds like an excuse for a party if I've ever heard of one." Jack grinned, turning from his sons eyes.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Faith grinned as she wrapped her arms around Xander's waist.

"Xander, could I talk to you for a second first?" Giles asked, stepping towards the kitchen.

"Sure, be right there." Xander smiled, kissing Faith on the forehead before moving into the kitchen. "What is it?"

"Buffy told me about what you did with Angelus." Giles said simply, watching Xander's face for any reaction.

"So? I did what I had to do, what any of you would have done." Xander defended himself, not wanting to cause an argument.

"I'm not saying what you did was wrong, I just want to know… Xander… you said you're powers have grown, that you have fully embraced the Ion powers. What does this mean exactly?" Giles asked, worry now showing on his face.

"It means I've just got access to more of his powers, before… after Kendra's death… I tried to shut away those emotions, tried to forget it ever happened. I realized that I can't do that, that I can't be afraid of using my powers. If I do that then I might as well not have them at all." Xander tried to explain.

"But… your powers… before, you told Jenny they were growing. Xander, what sort of limitations do you have now?" Giles asked, turning round and clicking the kettle on.

"I don't." Xander said simply.

"I'm sorry I… I don't understand." Giles said, turning back to look him in the eye. "You don't what?"

"I don't have limitations anymore, I can slip in and out of the time stream at will, teleportation, constructs, anything. They all come at a blink of an eye now, I can't explain it Giles. Please, all I'm asking is that you trust me."

"I do trust you Xander; I'm just worried about you. You say you don't have any limitations now, what is stopping you from doing whatever you want?" Giles said, worriedly.

"I am. I'm not going to go back and rewrite history; I'm not going to change the world. I'm just me, a bigger, demon ass kicking version of me." He smiled as he saw the look of worry ease on Giles' face. "Look, I can't promise I won't mess things up. I can't promise I won't make mistakes, but I can promise that I will do what I can to help people. I'm not going to fix the world, you showed me that, but if I can help people understand what is out there… then maybe I can do some good."

"Thank you Xander, I believe you have come a long way from that brash young man I met two years ago."

Xander just smiled, looking at the man that had helped him through all of this. "Now, can we party?" He asked, causing Giles to roll his eyes.

"Go, go on. I will stay here; you, Buffy, Faith and the others go out and enjoy yourselves." Giles smiled at him as he walked out the door.

"Come on guys, Bronze?" he asked, walking into the room where Buffy and Faith were talking quietly in the corner.

"Bronze." Faith agreed instantly. "B, you up for it?"

"Not for me, I've got some things to sort out first." Buffy smiled at the group before slipping out the door.

"What about you, dad? Not too old to be seen with a group of teenagers are you?" Xander mock taunted, causing a wild grin to appear on Jack's face.

"Old, I'll give you…" the rest of Jack's sentence was cut off as he was enveloped in a bright white light.

"Dad!" Xander shouted, diving for him. He wasn't quick enough though; the light vanished, taking his father with it.

"Thor, buddy, what's going on?" Jack asked as he appeared on Thor's ship.

"Greetings O'Neill, you are onboard the Beliskner, I have come seeking your assistance." Thor said, walking over to him. "This ship has been overrun with replicator's, we are still some distance from your world but I cannot alter the trajectory of the ships path."

"Replicator's? What are you talking about buddy?" Jack said, looking about the room he was in.

"Replicator's are the beings the Asgard are facing, they are a threat unlike any you have in your galaxy. I came seeking your assistance, hoping you would be able to help us in some way." Thor explained, moving over to a control panel on the wall and moving some of its 'stones'. "This is a replicator O'Neill, they are self replicating technologies, and their only purpose is to replicate more of themselves to…" Thor's explanation was cut off then Xander appeared in their midst, a rifle construct in one hand and a ball of glowing green energy in the other.

"Ok, who are you and what have you done with my dad?" Xander shouted as he appeared.

"Xander, I'm over here." Jack called from behind him. "Thor, you've already met my son, Xander. Xander, this is Thor, supreme commander of the Asgard fleet."

"Whoa." Xander muttered, dissipating the constructs and walking over to his father. "When you disappeared I just…" he trailed off, looking at the alien.

"Greetings." Thor said simply.

"Uh, yeah. Hi?" Xander said sheepishly. "Sorry to transport aboard like that, I was just..."

"It is quite alright, I transported O'Neill here to help me with a problem on board. The replicators have taken control of this ship and are on their way to earth, I transported O'Neill here to see if he could help us in defeating these beings." Thor explained.

"Ok, replicators, and they are?" Xander asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Allow me." Thor said, manipulating the controls on the wall again.

"Ah!" Xander shouted as a metallic bug shimmered into existence in front of him.

"This is a replicator; the ships computer has created a holographic simulation of one of the beings. It will act as a real replicator would, but it is harmless." Thor explained, moving round to observe the hologram.

"Ok, bug's. Why did it have to be bugs?" Jack muttered softly.

"Simple question, you're an advance race. Don't you have ray guns or something to deal with these things?" Xander asked, raising his eyebrow in a Teal'c fashion.

"Indeed, we do have 'ray guns' as O'Neill has called them on many occasions, but they are ineffective against replicators. They adapt to any weapon we have created, we are in need of assistance to deal with this threat before they wipe out the Asgard race." There was true worry in Thor's voice, not emotion as such but a tone.

"Right, and the ships on a direct course for earth, is there any way we can stop it?" Jack asked, looking at the little purple mechanical bug cautiously.

"There is not, the ships controls are being rerouted by the replicators. I have no means of subverting their control." Thor said, changing a control on the wall again causing the replicator to disappear.

"Ok then, how tough can these things be? Can't we just transport them off the ship? You know, beam them into space or something?" Xander asked, looking at the little grey alien.

"I am afraid not, the replicators cannot be transported by and known means, my ships computer cannot get a lock on the individual signatures." Thor explained as he moved to a door on the wall, opening it he stepped through.

"What about guns? Explosives? Anything like that?" Jack asked, following the Asgard.

"I am afraid I do not have access to those forms of weaponry on this ship O'Neill, if we could get to a control room I believe I could set the self destruct on the ship but the ships corridors are infected with replicators. I do not believe I would be able to make it." Thor explained.

"Ok, plan B then. Xander, can you get us off the ship? Push it off course or something?" Jack said, turning to his son.

"I don't… I don't know… this ship, it's huge, transporting you off is easy but dealing with the ship?" Xander said, thinking about it. "No, I don't know if I could deal with the ship." He said finally.

"Ok then, we need to get to that control room. Xander, can you get us some guns or something? Something real to use against these replicators." Jack said, a plan forming in his head.

"I think I can do that, anything you had in mind? I could just transport back to the stargate and tell the general what's happening, he could order a nuclear strike or something." Xander said, thinking if he could teleport them off the ship and warn to government, maybe they could blow up the ship from earth.

"Wouldn't work, the Asgard shields are strong enough to stop anything we have. We need to blow up the ship from the inside." Jack explained. "Go back to the SGC, warn Hammond about what's happening and ask for a standard foothold equipment locker. He'll know what to give you, come back here with it and we'll go from there ok?"

"'K, back soon." Xander grinned and flashed out of existence again.

"You have most interesting offspring O'Neill." Thor said, pausing as he used a control board to do something.

"Wait 'till you meet his girlfriend." Jack muttered under his breath.

"General!" Xander shouted as he appeared on the table of a conference room.

"Ah!" a few members of the table shouted, jumping back in their seats.

"Can't wait, Dad's stuck up there on an Asgard ship. It's heading this way, out of control. Thor said it's filled with these bug things, the enemies of the Asgard or something." Xander shouted, barely pausing for breath.

"Calm down son, O'Neill is with Thor at the moment?" Hammond asked as the other groups of people on the table moved away from the being stood there.

"Yeah, spaceship, somewhere by Jupiter I think. Anyway he said to ask for a foothold locker or something, said you'd know what he meant." Xander said, stepping down from the table.

"I do. Airman, I need one foothold locker to be brought here immediately." He barked the order to one of the guards on the door. The man just saluted crisply and marched out the door.

"I'm sorry about just appearing general; this was the only place I knew I could do it safely." Xander apologized, walking over to the Hammond.

"Quite alright son, is O'Neill safe? Does he need the rest of SG1 so come with you?" Hammond asked, curious as to what predicament O'Neill had found himself in this time.

"He's ok; he's with Thor at the moment. He wanted me to get this stuff and bring it back to him, something about a plan." Xander smiled, hoping his father's plans weren't anything like his own.

"Well I'm sure he will be ok then son, the equipment should be here shortly, can I offer you a drink of water or anything?" Hammond asked, pouring himself a drink.

"No, thank you general. I'd just like to get what he asked for and get back up there." Xander said, a bit worried now about his father. If the Asgard fancy weapons couldn't defeat those things, how much of a chance did he stand?

"Understandable… a here we are." The general smiled as Teal'c entered the room carrying a large metal container.

"As you requested general, might I enquire as to the nature of O'Neill's predicament?" Teal'c asked, raising an eyebrow at Xander's new uniform.

"Something to do with the Asgard and bugs, something called a replicator." Xander smiled as he watched the eyebrow rise even higher.

"Indeed." Teal'c commented.

"Well, got to dash. Get these goodies back to pop's, see you both soon." Xander grinned before he and the box disappeared in a bright green flash.

Teal'c just stood there, nonplussed as the general looked at the space where Xander had just disappeared from.

"Well, now I've got some explaining to do with the oversight committee, seeing as he appeared in the middle of a conference." Hammond grimaced, heading back into his office.

Teal'c just bowed before leaving the room. The Goa'uld may be evil but even they had yet to invent politicians, those beings were pure evil on a scale the Goa'uld couldn't even imagine.

"Xander, good!" Jack smiled as he appeared. "Ahh… Goodies as well." He grinned, opening the box and pulling out a P90. "Just what the doc ordered."

"Think I'll just stick with the energy blasts if you don't mind, I was never that big on guns." Xander smiled as he summoned an energy ball in his hand, it wasn't quite as effective as a pure energy blast, but it was a lot easier to contain and control, after all, he didn't want to over judge and blow a hole through one of the ships outer walls.

"Suit yourself, Thor?" Jack grinned, picking up a M16.

"I do not believe any of those weapons will be suitable for me to use O'Neill, I will wait here until you have reached the control room. When you are there use this," Thor handed jack a small white stone, roughly the size of a Zippo lighter. "It is a communications device. Contact me and I will transport there and set the self destruct."

"Cool." Jack grinned as he loaded the P90. "Right, you ready?"

"Yeah, Vampires, aliens, what's the difference?" Xander smiled at his father.

"Same old song and dance, let's go save the world, you know you love it." Jack grinned, opening the door. "Clear!"

"Ok, see you soon Thor." Xander smiled with a sloppy salute to the alien before disappearing out the door.

"Intriguing," Thor said, reading the display on the wall.

"Anything?" Xander asked as jack poked his head round another corner.

"Nothing, quiet so far, Thor said at the end of this corridor take the transport and press the blue button, that should take us to the control room." Jack said, waving his hand to beckon Xander forward.

"Got it." Xander smiled, it was weird. The alien space craft really didn't feel human at all. He'd seen all those sci-fi movies and TV shows, but in those, even the alien ships looked human. This ship didn't, it didn't feel anything like human, it was alien, truly alien.

"Watch out!" Jack shouted, taking aim and firing off at a replicator.

"Whoa, chalk one up for human technology. Gun's, one, alien ray guns, nil." Xander quipped as he saw the replicator burst into pieces.

"Looking good, behind you!" Jack shouted the last, spotting a replicator crawling down the wall behind Xander.

Xander just smiled, spinning round he threw the energy ball at the replicator, expecting the same effect as the gun did.

"Oh shit!" Xander shouted, jumping back to Jack as the energy ball passed through the replicator harmlessly.

Jack didn't waste any time, he quickly took aim and blew the replicator apart. "Thought that was supposed to work, didn't look like much to me."

"Ak, Alien bugs, immune to energy balls. Check, solid constructs, let's see." Xander grinned evilly as a construct of a minigun appeared in his hands. "Watched T2 a week or so back, don't ask."

"There!" Jack shouted as he saw three or four replicators coming round the corner.

"My turn!" Xander said, firing the gun.

Neither of them were expecting the fallout from that, the gun fired bullets in the dozens per minute. What Xander lacked in aim he made up for in pure ammunition. The bullets shredded through the replicators, causing them to turn into piles of what looked like ash. When the threat was over he smiled over at jack, waiting for the whir of the gun to stop.

"Think it'll do the trick?" he said, smirking at the look on his father's face.

"Smart ass," Jack grinned, was nice to have some power on their side for a change. "Come on, you take the front and I'll cover the rear, ninth door on the right."

"Got it," Xander grinned as he walked down the corridor, keeping his eye out for any bugs. "Can I get danger pay for this shit?"

Jack just laughed as the approached the door. "Don't think so, might want to ask though, see if you can get put on the air force pay role."

"Shit, forgot to tape the Simpson's." Xander muttered, as he opened the door.

"Don't worry, got it on DVD. You can borrow it sometime if you like." Jack grinned; maybe he was more like him than he thought.

"Sure, never want to miss an ep, bugs!" Xander shouted, warming the gun up again and firing into the room.

O'Neill's gun soon joined him; the room was full of replicators. They were crawling out of holes in the wall, crawling on the wall and trying to get to them.

"Retreat!" Jack shouted in between bursts. He let Xander go first so he could cover the door, closing it quickly he ran to catch up. "Back to Thor, and on to plan C."

AN: I've written, and rewritten this chapter a half dozen times and I'm still not completely satisfied with it...

Let me know what you think, constructive criticism is always good :)

M


	18. Chapter 18

"And plan C would be?" Xander asked as he ran down the corridor, closely followed by Jack.

"Get back to Thor, get off this ship and blow it sky high, why? You got a better plan?" Jack asked, his voice loaded with sarcasm.

"I'll get us off, no wait, that sounded wrong." Xander quipped as they turned the corner into the 'storage room' where Thor was waiting.

"Funny," Jack grinned as he saw Thor. "Slight change of plans buddy, we've got to blow the ship from orbit."

"And the control for the self destruct is what we were looking for." Xander grinned as he dragged his hand down his face. "Right, plan D. You two get off the ship, I'll get outside and fire the thing into the sun, doubt the critters can survive that right?" Xander checked with Thor, grinning when he saw the alien nod.

"Right, sounds like a plan." O'Neill smiled, things weren't exactly going according to plan, but then again when did things ever go according to plan when he was involved.

"O'Neill, escape pods are this way." Thor said was he walked towards a door on the opposite side of the room.

"Just get off the ship and hang back, I'll get rid of the ship and come back for you ok?" Xander asked as he saw them turn the corner and head out of view.

"You have very interesting progeny O'Neill." Thor said as they approached the escape pod.

"Tell me about it." O'Neill quipped as he fired off a few rounds as a closing Replicator.

"We are ready to leave O'Neill; I believe your progeny as waiting outside for us."

"Huh?" O'Neill couldn't even form a question as he looked out the port hole of the escape pod and saw Xander there, simply hanging in space surrounded by a green shield of some sort. "I gotta get the story some day."

"Hold on O'Neill." Thor pressed a few controls on the wall and the door slid shut, hissing slightly before the entire pod juddered slightly.

O'Neill just turned to the port hole again, smiling at his son and giving him the 'thumbs up' signal.

"How does he plan on moving the ship into the star O'Neill? The replicators will be able to counter any movement he attempts with the engines." Thor asked, pondering Xander's powers for a minute.

"No idea buddy, but from what I've seen of him..." Jack let the sentence trail off, from what he'd seen of Xander he could be an amazing help to the SCG, or a real threat if he ever got snaked. "I trust him, if he says he can do it, then he can do it."

Outside, Xander watched the escape pod get to a clear distance from the main ship before turning to the ship itself. "Right, bit bigger than I've tried before, but here goes." As he concentrated for a moment, a large green slingshot started to appear around the ship, with the harness securing around the engines.

Flexing his mental muscles, he pulled the ship back with the harness and then let it fly, right into the sun.

"Score for Earth." Xander grinned as he watched the ship getting smaller and smaller in the distance until it disappeared in the glare of the sun. "Now to take care of the passengers." Flying over to the escape pod he allowed himself to phase through the outer shell and into the pod. "Everything cool here?"

"A slingshot?" O'Neill asked in amazement.

"Hey, worked didn't it?" Xander quipped back.

"Yeah, but a slingshot?" This time one eyebrow was raised and Xander could tell O'Neill was desperately holding back laughter.

"Is there somewhere you'd like me to set you down? I mean not that I mind giving you a lift or anything but if I don't get back to Faith soon she'll have Jenny flying about looking for me, and you don't want those to mad at you." Xander grinned as he thought of his friends; it was actually nice to finally realize that he had friends and family that actually cared for him.

"Back at the SGC will be fine thanks." Jack grinned back, slapping Xander on the shoulder. "You did good back there."

Xander just looked at Jack, no his father with amazement. It was the first time he'd ever really received praise for something he'd done, and the fact that it was coming from his father really meant something to him. "Thanks dad."

"We will be entering the atmosphere in three earth minutes." Thor announced, breaking up the touching moment.

"I've got it; give me a call soon ok? If you need anything?" Xander smiled, holding out his hand to Jack.

"Same to you son." Jack smiled, ignoring the offered hand and pulling his son into a tight hug.

"Tell the general I'm here if you need me." Xander grinned and with that teleported the pods along with his dad and Thor back to the SCG gate room, leaving himself just hanging in space.

Taking the time just to look around he smiled, it was so peaceful up here, not just the quiet, it was never quiet for him, but it was serene. There were no petty arguments, no wars over land, it was just one planet.

"Where is he?" Faith asked for what seemed like the hundredth time, "and what was that light that took his dad?"

"I don't know Faith," Giles responded again. "but whatever it is, I am sure that Xander can take care of it."

"Taken care of." Xander said with finality as he flashed into the room, startling both Giles and Faith.

"Where were you?" Faith snapped, diving onto Xander and kissing him.

"Space, some problem that my dad needed to take care of." Xander explained quickly in between kisses.

"I assume everything went well then?" Giles asked, smiling at the antics of the two teenagers.

"Yeah, all done with, it was just some creepy mechanical bug things trying to take over a space ship." Xander grinned at Faith and Giles' face as he spoke of aliens so flippantly.

"Alien bugs?" Buffy asked as she walked in the room, followed by Willow and Jenny.

"Nah, alien robot bugs." Xander clarified with a grin. "Spider things, big as plates."

"Ugh!" Buffy and Willow both shuddered at the thought of giant robot spiders taking over, it wasn't as weird as some of the things they had faced, but it was definitely high up there on the creep o'meter.

"How are things round good ol' Sunnydale then? Any action?" Xander asked as he flopped into a chair.

"Since Acathla was taken care of things have been pretty quiet of late, even the vampire population seems to be staying quiet for some reason." Giles explained.

"Yeah, barely one or two vamps per night, getting kind of bored." Faith said with a smile; leave it to the slayers to get bored when things were too quiet.

"Too quiet?" Xander asked, too quiet was bad, it normally meant that something was coming that was keeping the lower vamps away for some reason.

"Indeed, I have been researching anything that could be causing it, but nothing as of yet." Giles smiled, "It could just be a quiet period, I recommend you enjoy it while it lasts."

"So, party?" Xander asked with a grin.

"Party." Buffy and Faith agreed.

"Um, before you go, Xander, Faith could I have a moment of your time please." Giles asked, motioning to the kitchen where they could talk in private.

"Sure G-man." Xander smiled and headed for the kitchen as Faith just nodded and followed.

"Now, I wanted to ask you more about what happened in the hospital but the events with your father interrupted me so to speak." Giles asked, smiling reassuringly when he noticed Faith's worried look. "You implied that you now don't have any limitations on what you can do?"

"Well, I suppose I do have limits, but only those I give myself. I mean I can do anything, I can see the individual strands of DNA by just looking at you, I can alter them if I need to. Wait, this isn't coming out right. I'm only limited by my imagination now, if I can think of it, then I can do it, and as I just found out in space, if I don't understand something then I can't change it... it's weird and complicated Giles, just trust me, I'm not going to do anything stupid." Xander tried to explain as best he could, it was weird but as much as he tried to, he couldn't explain what he was now capable of.

"While I admit it is a bit of a relief to know you still have limits Xander, I was more concerned about this." Giles paused for a second and reached into his pocket, pulling out the small object that Xander had dropped in the hospital. "Faith picked it up from where you dropped it and gave it to me when she couldn't figure out what it is. Xander, is this what I think it is?" Giles paused, his voice almost awed as he looked at the small emerald ring in his hand.

Xander didn't say a thing, he couldn't. He'd tried to create a ring before but every time he had failed, of course that was before he had finally become one with the power. Reaching over he picked up the ring and held it in front of his face, looking at it carefully. The ring seemed to pulse with his own power, it felt good, it felt right.

"What is it?" Faith asked, slightly worried at the reactions this small ring had caused in Xander and Giles.

"It's a Green Lantern Ring, a real one. I can feel the power from it now, it isn't charged but its real." Xander stated, the ring felt good in his hands, it felt natural.

"So? What does it do?" Faith asked, curious now about the way Xander was treating it with awe.

"Anything." Xander said with a breath, "It can do anything you want it to." Reaching behind his neck he untied the necklace he was wearing, it was a cheap 'ying yang' symbol on a black leather cord, but this felt more natural. Pulling the 'ying yang' symbol off the cord he threaded the cord through the ring and walked over to Faith, smiling for a second he tied it softly round her neck.

"Anything I want?" Faith asked, shocked that he had given the ring to her.

"The ring isn't charged yet, until it's charged it's just like any other ring. This ring was known as the most powerful weapon in the universe Faith, I don't know if it should be charged yet, if ever." Xander explained as he finished the knot and let the ring drop so it hung over Faith's collar bone.

"A wise choice Xander." Giles nodded in agreement, from what he knew about Green Lantern's, charging the ring could have drastic consequences for the world as they knew it. It could easily be their greatest salvation, or their deadliest enemy.

As the three walked out from the kitchen they drew questioning glances from the rest of the group, causing Faith the finger the ring nervously.

"Don't worry guys, it's out of charge." Xander explained as he noticed Willow's awed and scared look as she noticed the ring around Faith's neck.

"What is?" Buffy asked, glancing around for a second before settling on the ring around Faith's neck. "What is it?"

"Willow can fill you in; I just want some quiet time with Faith for a bit." Xander grinned, pulling Faith close before flashing out of the building, taking Faith with him.

"What? What is it Willow?" Buffy asked, turning to her best friend.

"So what now?" Faith asked as they flashed back into normal space, glancing around she quickly gasped then grabbed onto Xander for dear life.

Xander had teleported them to the upper atmosphere of the planet, he was shielding them with a bubble but it didn't make it any less of a shock to Faith.

"Want me next time you're going to do something like that?" Faith said with a grin as she slowly put her foot on the bubble, testing it for strength before standing up and letting go of Xander.

"Sorry, I just wanted some quiet time with you, away from any distractions." Xander explained, pulling Faith into a passionate kiss.

"So, where are we?" Faith asked, breaking the kiss suddenly and looking down at the planet below them.

"About ten thousand miles above Florida." Xander said with a grin, he knew Faith loved it up here; it was so peaceful he couldn't blame her.

"Florida? You have all the power of a God, and you took me above the cheesiest tourist trap in America?" Faith mock ranted, she loved just being with Xander, they could be in high school or on the moon for all she cared.

"Nah, if I wanted to do that we could always go to Vegas." Xander smiled and created a bench for them to sit on. He sat down, smiling as Faith forwent her seat and sat directly on his lap.

"Seriously though, why here?" Faith asked, kissing him lightly.

"I just wanted some time with you, away from the rest of the group." Xander explained.

"I know, but the rest of them, Buffy, Jenny, Giles... they all care about you as well." Faith argued, it was nice with Xander, she finally felt that she could be herself, it was strange at first, she fought it, trying to keep up the tough girl charade she had going. Xander actually accepted her for who she was, not the slayer, not just some piece of ass, he actually liked 'her' for who she was.

"I know, do you think I should bring them up here as well? You know, show them how I actually see the world now?" Xander asked, he'd thought about bringing everyone up here a few times now but was afraid of how they would react to the outside perspective he was showing them.

"I'm sure they'd love it." Faith grinned and stood up from his lap.

"Ok, one second." Xander concentrated for a second as he created constructs of himself in front of the gang, Jenny and Giles were cuddled up on the couch watching a movie while Buffy, Willow and Oz were patrolling a graveyard. "Hey Guys" He said though the construct, causing the two groups to jump slightly.

"Xander, is everything alright?" Giles asked.

"Whoa, weird." Oz commented as he walked over to 'their' version of the Xander construct and waved his hand through it.

"Sorry, this is weird, having two conversations at once in my head; I've got something to show you all, up for it?" He asked through the constructs.

"Sure." Buffy said with a grin.

"Yeah." Willow smiled, she'd been thinking more and more about how Xander saw the world now, maybe he would show her something now he was finally accepting who he was.

"Cool" Oz just smiled.

"Is it safe?" Giles asked slowly, not really worried just cautious of what Xander was now capable of.

"It's cool G-man; I just want to show you all something, Faith seems to think you'll love it." Xander smiled.

"Do we need to do anything?" Giles asked.

"Nope, just stay where you are, I'll grab you in a few seconds." Xander replied, dissolving the constructs. "What do you think?" He asked, turning to Faith. "Here, or a bit higher?"

"Higher." Faith said with a grin, wanting to see Buffy's face when she saw the world like this for the first time.

"Ok." Xander grinned, he had just the place. With a flash he teleported himself and Faith, along with Giles, Jenny, Buffy, Willow and Oz to the surface of the moon, where he established a bubble and atmosphere for the group along with a few chairs.

"What? Where are we?" Buffy asked as she appeared, turning to Xander she looked questioningly at his grin before turning to Giles and noticing the slack jawed look of awe on his face.

"Got you some chairs Giles, thought you might need them." Xander grinned as he watched Giles flop into one of the chairs.

"What?" Buffy asked, turning round so she could see what everyone was staring at. The view hit her like a rock slide. In front of her was earth, The Earth. In the distance she could see the sun slowly moving out from behind the planet she called home.

"Bit of a different view isn't it B?" Faith asked as she walked over to stand with her sister slayer.

"But... but... has Xander brought you here before?" Buffy finally managed to ask as she glanced around at the rest of the scoobies.

"No, this is a first for everyone. Jenny's been in space before, but never this high." Xander explained as he sat in one of the chairs and made himself comfy for the 'sun rise' coming.

"It's so small." Buffy commented, it sounded stupid even to her, but there was no other way of describing it. The world she knew of was huge but from this view it was just one planet in the distance.

"Do you..." Giles paused, glancing around for a second. "Do you come up here often?"

"First time on the moon for me as well Giles, I go into space now and again, it's quiet, peaceful. It's a place I can think." Xander tried to explain but he doubted they understood how serene space really was for him.

"Huh." Oz smiled and reached down, picking up a chunk of moon rock and pocketing it. Willow just smiled at him and did the same.

"Yep, we are all the first humans to ever see this, the sun rise on the moon from the surface, without any protective equipment." He added the last, thinking about the several moon landings in the past.

"What's keeping us safe?" Giles asked, he couldn't see any green bubble about that was keeping the atmosphere in.

Xander just waved his hand flashing the bubble green for a second before allowing it to go back to its normal transparent colour.

"It's beautiful." Jenny finally said, she'd been in space before, but had never had the guts to go this high or see something like this. The fact that Xander had brought everyone up here to experience this as a group meant so much to her. Walking over she kissed Giles softly and sat next to him to enjoy the view.

"I know this is normally just mine and Jenny's territory, but I wanted to show you all this, to see how we see the world now." Xander explained why he had brought everyone here. "It's not just for the view, it's the perspective."

"Uh, Xander, who are they?" Willow asked from the edge of the bubble where she had been slowly testing how far it went.

"Who?" Xander asked, spinning round so he could see who Willow was referring to. "Ah crap." As Xander looked on he could see several pyramid based spaceships approaching them slowly from the orbit of mars.

"Aliens." Buffy and Faith said slowly, the shock of what Xander actually was dealing with now finally hitting them.

"Hold on." Xander said, thinking he could actually deal with them himself, especially with two slayers, a werewolf and a Kryptonion here with him. "Just stay here, I'll be back in a second." He smiled softly to Giles, reassuring him that they would be safe before teleporting to the SGC, it would be better to know what they were dealing with before just jumping into action, so far the only aliens he had dealt with were the Asgard and the Tollan, these could be one of them or another race that Dr Jackson had told him about, either way it would be better to get some details before jumping into things.

"Tell me, do you guys ever actually get a day off?" Xander grinned as he teleported into the briefing room of the SGC where Hammond was briefing SG-1 on the current crisis.

"Xander." Jack said with a grin as he noticed his son enter the room with his customary green flash.

"Strange thing, I was lounging about on the moon with a few friends of mine, just minding my own business and watching the sun come out from behind earth, when Willow notices this alien armada coming towards earth." Xander explained with a grin, smiling as Sam started spluttering about enjoying time on the moon.

"That would be the Goa'uld," Daniel explained. "Specifically Apophis, he heard that we had got our hands on a new weapon from his spies in the Tollan, looks like he's come here to investigate."

"Right, bad guys then?" Xander quipped causing his father to grin.

"The worst, what ya going to do with them?" O'Neill grinned, it was about time the snakes learnt they weren't the biggest guns on the planet anymore.

"Me? Nothing, you can take care of this right?" Xander said, he'd thought this over many times and Giles words keep coming back to him, it wasn't his place to fight everyone's battles anymore, he would help from time to time yeah, but he wasn't going to fix everything for everyone.

"We can't actually get on board their ships, and we don't have enough firepower to neutralise them from here." Sam explained.

"Right, so they're here to do what exactly?" Xander asked, it looked like he was going to have to step in after all.

"They will bomb your cities from orbit before transporting their armies down and taking your population as slaves." Teal'c explained bluntly.

"Right, I'm voting we stop that." Xander said, shocked at the bluntness of Teal'c's explanation.

"Me too." O'Neill said, holding his hand in the air.

"I'll get you on board with a few friends of mine, but I'm not going to do anything unless they start bombing the planet alright?" Xander explained, smiling at his father's look of glee.

"So we can attack them, but if they start attacking us from space you'll step in and send them packing?" O'Neill said with a grin.

"Sums it up." Xander shot back with the same grin.

"Excellent, suit up people, gate room in ten minutes." O'Neill smiled at Xander before heading out of the briefing room with Teal'c, Daniel and Sam.

"You could really stop the Goa'uld?" General Hammond asked, shock and disbelief colouring his voice.

"I could, but I won't, not unless it is absolutely necessary." Xander explained. "If I started solving all of the world's problems and fixing things to my view, then how am I different from any other dictator?"

"A very grown up attitude for a young man." General Hammond replied, actually relieved that he was hearing this, it was nice to know someone with all this power was on their side and wasn't actually looking to control the planet for himself.

"I had to grow up fast." Xander said, smiling at the relieved look on the general's face.

"And who are your friends that are going to be joining SG-1?" Hammond asked, curious to know more about O'Neill's son and his adventures now.

"Two slayers, a werewolf and a Kryptonion." Xander said off the cuff.

"A Kryptonion? Like Superman?" Hammond asked with shock, his nieces and nephews read comics so he was familiar with the big names in them.

"More like Supergirl." Xander grinned. "Wait, you're not shocked about a werewolf or curious about slayers?"

"The high up's have known about the supernatural for a while, we normally stay out of it and let the slayers and watchers handle it." Hammond explained, thinking back to the reports he read on the supernatural teams the allies had recruited in world war two, it had always ended in disaster.

"Right, fair enough." Xander said, a little shocked that the military already knew about the supernatural.

"We're ready." O'Neill said with a grin as he poked his head round the door.

"Right, it was nice to see you again general." Xander said with a smile as he walked out of the room and down to the gate room with his father.

"You realise of course that you're breaking highly confidential laws bringing civilians on an assignment like this?" General Hammond said as O'Neill and Xander started down the stairs.

"We were already on the moon, it couldn't really be helped." Xander said by way of explanation, "besides, things have been quiet enough for us recently on our front; it'll give the slayers something to burn their energy off against."

"Could you at least bring everyone back here afterwards so I can have them sign nondisclosure agreements, just to keep the president happy?" Hammond asked, it would at least keep the politicians happy if all the paperwork was filled in for once.

"Can do." Xander said with a grin before starting off down the stairs again with his father.

"How are we going to get on board the ships?" Sam asked as Xander and O'Neill walked into the gate rom.

"Same way I got here, but with a short detour via the moon to pick up my friends." Xander explained.

"Who are you bringing along?" O'Neill asked, curious as to which ones of his friends would be accompanying them on this mission.

"All of them." Xander said with a grin before teleporting them to the moon's surface to meet up with the scoobies. 

"Xander, thank god, I was getting a bit claustrophobic up here." Giles said with relief as he noticed the green flash the always signified Xander's arrival.

"Only you could get claustrophobic on the moon Giles." Xander said with a grin at the older man. "Guy's, you all know my father Jack and T," Xander nodded to each of them in turn. "This is Doctor Daniel Jackson and the lovely Sam Carter." Xander smiled as Sam blushed and waved to the group.

"Sam." Daniel said softly.

"Yeah Daniel?" She replied as she smiled at the group of Xander's friends.

"Look behind you." Daniel said as she noticed Xander's group grinning. As she turned around she saw O'Neil and Teal'c looking uncharacteristically shocked, Daniel was practically wide eyed at the sight. Turning fully around she could see why.

"We're on the moon." She said softly.

"That's where I said I was, did you think I was joking around?" Xander said with a grin as he walked over so he could stand with them, soon the rest of the scoobies had joined them in looking at earth from this new viewpoint.

"Ok, snakes to deal with first, we can take in the view later campers." O'Neill grinned at the looks everyone shot him.

"We're going to fight alien snakes?" Buffy asked, shocked about what she was hearing.

"They're inside people Buffy; they crawl inside you and take over your body." O'Neill explained.

"Creepy." Buffy shuddered as she noticed Xander teleporting various pieces of equipment for them to use. "What are you bringing up?"

"The usual, swords and axes, I don't think stakes will be must good here." Xander quipped.

"While these weapons are effective against the vampires we fought together, most Goa'uld and Jaffa use staff weapons and Zat'nik'atel in combat. They will rarely fight in close combat preferring to use staff blasts to defeat their opponents from a distance." Teal'c explained.

"Right, long ranges weapons then." Xander said with a grin, teleporting their weapons back and crating a set of machine gun constructs for the group. "Everyone ok with these?"

"I don't like guns Xander." Buffy said with a pout as she looked at the weapons.

"I've never shot one before." Willow admitted, glancing at the guns.

"Right, crossbows for you two, Giles, Oz?" Xander said, crating two of the crossbows that he originally designed for Buffy.

"I'm more of a pistol person." Giles admitted, smiling when O'Neill handed over his sidearm with a spare clip.

"Oz?" Xander asked slowly.

"Nothing sword like?" he asked.

"Hmmm... I might be able to come up with something." Xander smiled evilly as he let his imagination go and crated a small cylinder in Oz's hand.

"Is this..." Oz asked, shock actually showing on his face for once.

"Yup, it's green and will work just like a normal one." Xander explained, causing mixed looks from the two groups.

Oz just paused for a second, nodding at Xander in appreciation before igniting the weapon. True to form it hissed slightly before extending to its full length.

"Did you just give that kid a lightsaber?" O'Neill asked, glancing at Sam's shocked expression and Teal'c's look of envy.

"Yup." Xander said with a grin, "Now, shall we spend all day chatting or shall we actually stop the snakes before they get to earth?"

"Right, snakes first, explanations later." O'Neill smiled at the fact that his son had taken to calling the Goa'uld snakes as well.

"Ok, let's get on board." Xander smiled as the groups gathered around him bracing themselves for what could be on board the ship. "Everyone ready?"

As everyone nodded he transported them onboard the largest ship in a green flash.

"Fuck!" Faith exclaimed as they appeared on the ship with two Jaffa stood in front of them.

"What the...?" Xander exclaimed, he could have sworn this part of the ship was empty when he scanned ahead.

The Jaffa seemed just as surprised as they were, glancing at each other for a second before lowering their staff weapons and taking aim. Buffy and Faith immediately spotted the weapons for what they were and dove out of the way. SG-1 just span and fired on the two Jaffa with their rifles, killing them both as one fired his staff for the first time.

Time seemed to slow to a halt as everyone watched the Jaffa fall and the energy blast from the staff blast pass them before exploding into Jenny's chest, sending her sprawling onto the floor.

"Jenny!" Giles shouted, diving down next to her as SG-1 spread out and covered the corridors leading to this room.

"Fuck that hurt!" Jenny exclaimed and she rolled over, everyone paused for a second, glancing down at her stomach where the energy blast had burnt away her clothes but left the blue leotard unharmed next to her skin. "God damnit, I actually liked that top." Jenny complained, ripping off the now ruined top and shedding her skirt to reveal her Supergirl uniform underneath.

"I'll buy you a new one, I'm sorry; I honestly thought this area was safe." Xander said, his eyes showing more regret than his words were capable of.

"It's alright Xander, I'm just glad it hit me and not one of the girls." Jenny said as she looked at the two dead bodies on the floor.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Sam asked, looking at where the staff blast had hit her in the stomach, it hadn't even left a scorch mark on her uniform.

"I'm sure, it hurt for a moment then passed, I guess I just need to absorb some more yellow sun radiation right?" She turned to Xander for confirmation and smiled as he nodded.

"Right," O'Neill slipped back into command tone. "We'll head to the glider bays first, set C4. Carter, you take Supergirl there with Willow, Giles and Daniel, see if you can find the engines and computer core. I want everyone in radio contact at all times, is that understood."

"Sir." Carter nodded, agreeing with his plan.

"The rest of you with me, we'll set the C4 before heading to the bridge to deal with the head snake." O'Neill grinned; Apophis was definitely in for a shock this time. "Meet back here in one hour, C4 set for..." Glancing at his watch quickly he noted the time. "Twenty one hundred hours, that gives us time for recon before meeting back here and fifteen minutes to get off the ship before it goes boom."

Everyone nodded this time, no one wanted to be on board when it finally exploded.

"Ok then people, good luck," With that O'Neill headed off with Teal'c, Oz and the two slayers while Carter headed off with Jenny, Giles and Daniel. Xander just watched the two groups leave with a smile on his face. Finally, everyone working together for a common cause, this is what it should be about. He chuckled to himself as he thought about the Jaffa's face when they run into slayer strength or Oz's lightsaber; it should be an interesting moment.

O'Neill just took a second to glance back at his son, he knew he would be safe and it was nice to know that they finally had some big guns on their team. He shared a smile and a nod with his son before leading his group of warriors away. Things were certainly going to get interesting for the Goa'uld very quickly.

AN: Woo Hoo

An update at last lol

Yeah I know it's been a while, but I hope it was worth the wait :D

More will come soon, I've finally figured out where I want to take this story now.

As always, reviews are appreciated.

M 


	19. Chapter 19

"So, how are things going with Xander then?" O'Neill asked as they turned a corner after checking it first.

"It's good, you know, it feels right." Faith replied with a soppy grin on her face, it was nice that she could actually be herself with these people. They didn't expect her to be the slayer; they didn't expect her to have sex. She was just Faith, and it was nice.

"How long have you two been seeing each other for now?" O'Neill asked, now he was getting along with his son openly about everything it was nice to talk to his friends and find out a little more about him, maybe actually get the story of how he got his powers.

"Nearly six months now." Faith said with a grin.

"Wow, must have been some six months." O'Neill said with a grin that matched her own.

"It has been." Faith smiled, thinking back to that first kiss.

"What about you?" He asked, turning to Buffy.

"Known him for about two years now." Buffy said, smiling when she remembered Xander's first words to her.

"Has he always... you know, been like this?" He asked, subtlety not being one of his strong points.

"You mean a God?" Faith asked with a grin causing Buffy to laugh and Teal'c to raise his eyebrow.

"Yeah." O'Neill smiled, he was still getting used to the fact that his son was pretty much omnipotent.

"Nah, that's something new." Faith smiled, knowing where this was going.

"So he wasn't born like it then?" He asked, wondering what could have happened to give his son access to that much power.

"What has he told you?" Buffy asked cautiously as they passed round another empty corridor.

"Nothing, he said I'll find out when he's ready to talk about it." O'Neill sighed; he obviously wasn't going to learn about it here, so he'd just wait until Xander was ready to explain it to him.

"Then he'll tell you when he's ready." Buffy said with a smirk, confirming to O'Neill what he already knew.

"Come on then, Glider bay should be just round this corner." O'Neill smiled as he checked round the corridor, empty again.

"You know, for a heavily armed spaceship, I haven't seen that many aliens." Buffy commented as she walked up to the doors in front of them, causing them to open automatically.

She came face to face with a Jaffa warrior with a gold tattoo on his forehead, reacting purely on instinct she dropped the construct of a crossbow, which promptly disappeared when it hit the floor before kicking the Jaffa in the stomach with all of her strength.

O'Neill just watched in shock at the Jaffa went sailing back into the room before hitting one of the pillars and crumpling to the floor for a second, he watched, unable to do anything as Buffy dove forward as the first prime got up and started hand to hand combat with the teenage girl.

'Get out of the way, give me a clean shot', O'Neill was screaming in his mind, not wanting to actually yell or he might distract Buffy, who was doing a good job of holding her own against the first prime.

Oz was just watching calmly, he knew Buffy could take the alien down; it was just a matter of time. Sniffing slightly he paused before turning to O'Neill. "Three more coming from behind us."

"Great... wait, how'd you know that?" O'Neill paused, thankful for the heads up but curious as to how he knew that.

"Smelt them." Oz replied as he ignited the lightsaber and ducked into one of the alcoves.

"Smelt them, of course." O'Neill said before ducking in to an alcove himself.

"I'll help Buffy; you take the guys out here." Faith said before running into the room to give her sister slayer help with the big alien.

"Faith wait..." O'Neill was cut short when the doors closed with Buffy and Faith inside facing off against Apophis' latest first prime. "Damnit!"

"I am sure SlayerBuffySummers and SlayerFaith will be able to deal with the first prime O'Neill." Teal'c commented as he ducked into an alcove ready for the ambush.

"I know, I just don't like the see kids fighting battles like this." O'Neill commented as he unchecked the safely on his P90 and ducked into the opposite alcove to Teal'c.

As the Jaffa came round the corner they paused noticing a green glow on the floor coming from one of the alcoves, O'Neill heard the sounds of the two staff weapons snapping open and dove into action. Moving out of the alcove he fired off a round from his P90, catching one of the Jaffa off guard killing his instantly, the other Jaffa just turned to him, shielded by his comrade he swung his staff weapon round to face O'Neill.

Oz just stepped out of the alcove and swung his lightsaber down, cutting the staff weapon in two, millimetres from where the Jaffa was holding it. The Jaffa just looked at the stump of his staff weapon, stunned for a moment as Oz stepped back into the alcove, providing O'Neill with a clean shot as he took out the second Jaffa.

Teal'c simply stepped out of the alcove and fired his staff weapon directly into the chest of the remaining Jaffa before he could react to the slaughter of his two comrades, the blast of the staff weapon killed him instantly and the sound echoed through the corridor for a few seconds.

"You know, I wasn't sure if that thing would work or not." O'Neill said, nodding to Oz's lightsaber as he moved towards the doors.

Oz just smiled and deactivated it with a hiss.

"So how long have you been friends with Xander?" Daniel asked as they passed by another room, they'd decided to look for the main computer core first and then head to the engines after, that way they could get as much information as they could from the computer before blowing the place sky high.

"I've known him since we were two." Willow said with a smile.

"Just over two years now." Giles smiled as he checked around the corner before nodding as the group passed round, Sam firmly at their rear to make sure nothing snuck up on them.

"So Buffy and Faith are Slayers?" He asked, specifically looking at Giles this time.

"Yes, I assume you have heard of them before?" Giles asked, curious himself as to how much Daniel actually knew.

"I've come across the legend in several writings of ancient legends; 'The Slayer' was actually referenced in the uprising that was responsible for driving Ra from this planet originally." Daniel replied, happy to find someone he could actually talk about his theories with and not be ladled an idiot.

"Tak Ne." Giles said with a smile, continuing at Daniels interested expression. "She was the Slayer in Egypt around three thousand BC, the watcher diaries list her fighting against Goold demons, though now I can safely assume they were these Goa'uld demons."

"You have access to diaries from three thousand BC?" Daniel asked, awestruck with the amount of knowledge and historical texts Giles would have access to.

"Yes, the watcher diaries from that era are remarkable well preserved along with some of the slayers actual artefacts from that rebellion, it might actually be worth taking a look at them again, with the knowledge now of the Goa'uld they might prove to be something else entirely." Giles thought to himself, it had been a while since he had been in the artefact room at the Watcher headquarters, he was due a trip back to England soon anyway, maybe he would have to take a side trip.

"If I could, I'd like to take a look at some of those myself, there could be something important in them about the uprising." Daniel asked, practically drooling at the opportunity to get his hands on original accounts of the uprising that drove the Goa'uld from earth.

"I'll make the request to have the artefacts moved to my storage room in Sunnydale, that way we can go through the artefacts personally." Giles smiled at the grateful look Daniel was sending him.

"I think you broke him Giles." Willow said with a grin.

Jenny just smiled at their antics, turning round she checked the rooms near her with her x-ray vision, making sure they were alone.

"You ok?" Sam asked, noting the faraway look on her face.

"Yeah, sorry, just checking the rooms were clear." Jenny explained.

"How?" Sam asked, curious as to the extent of this woman's power, she'd seen her bend rifles and them compress them into a ball, but aside from the strength and flight, she hadn't seen much else.

"X-ray vision, don't ask me how it works because I don't know, Xander would probably be able to tell you though." Jenny explained. "Hold on, I see the engine room, two floors down."

"Can you make it on your own?" Sam asked, seeing how she took a staff blast to the chest without it even tearing her uniform, she was willing to bet that she would be the best one to send out alone for a task.

"Yeah, just place the C4 and get gone right?" Jenny asked as she took Sam's backpack off her and strapped it to her own back.

"Yes, just put in on remote detonator by flicking the switch on the side of the detonator, try and spread them out through the room as much as you can ok?" Sam explained as she watched Jenny fasten the straps tightly across her shoulders.

"Got it, anything else you want while I'm down there?" Jenny asked with a smirk before disappearing in a blue and red blur down the corridor.

"Computer room should be just ahead." Sam just smiled at the two historians and shook her head as she tried to figure out how Jenny had done what she just did.

"Great." Daniel smiled and passed round the next corner, quickly ducking back when he saw a pair of Jaffa marching towards them. "Quickly, in here." Daniel said before moving to a door on the side of the corridor and ducking inside, followed quickly by Willow, Giles then Sam.

Sam was last in, sticking the mussel of her P90 into the door as it closed, blocking it so she could watch as the Jaffa approached.

"Daniel..." Willow asked quietly as she glanced round the room.

"Yes?" Daniel replied in the same hushed tone as he stood behind Sam with his P90 at the ready in case the Jaffa were heading for this room.

"Daniel..." Willow said again, a bit more urgency in her tone.

"Yes..." he replied again spinning round to see what the problem was. "Oh..." Willow was stood next to a Goa'uld sarcophagus, the white light glowing from the edges of the closed lid indicating it was active and someone was inside.

"I'd hazard a guess that isn't good." Giles said as he leant over to take a better look at the hieroglyphs on the top.

"It's a sarcophagus, the Goa'uld use it to heal themselves, even bring people back from the dead." Daniel whispered to Giles and Willow as he walked round the gold room, looking for any indication as to who might be inside.

"So there's someone inside this thing?" Willow asked, going a bit white at the prospect of being locked inside it.

"Apophis himself." Daniel whispered, anger colouring his voice.

"The Jaffa have stopped outside, they look to be waiting for something." Sam explained, pulling her P90 out of the door as she stepped back to take a look round the room for another exit.

"So we're locked inside a room, with guards on the outside and the head bag guy in here with us?" Willow asked as she went several shades whiter.

"I'm afraid it looks that way." Giles said as he checked the ammo clip on his pistol and chambered a round.

Willow whimpered slightly, causing Sam to look at her concerned.

"I don't suppose we could use him as a hostage to get out of here?" Giles offered.

"He's likely got a personal shield along with a hand device, easily a match for the weapons we have here." Sam explained as she looked round the room, hunting for another way out. It seemed the door they came in, which was now guarded by a contingent of Jaffa, was the only way in or out of here.

"This just keeps getting better." Willow said softly.

"O'Neill, come in." Carter said into her radio.

"What the..." O'Neill exclaimed as the door opened and he saw Buffy and Faith stood over a pile of slumped Jaffa.

"They came from over there..." Buffy said by way of explanation, nodding to a door on the far side of the glider bay.

"Let me get this straight, you two took out a first prime along with six..." O'Neill paused, doing a quick recount. "Make that eight Jaffa?"

"Uhuh." Faith grinned as she span a staff weapon round in her hand, grimacing as it scraped across the floor with a screech. "Do these things come any smaller? Cause they would be wicked at taking out vamps." Faith grinned as O'Neill grimaced at the thought and Teal'c just raised an eyebrow at the thought.

"O'Neill, Come in." Sam's voice came over the radio, interrupting whatever O'Neill was about to say.

"Receiving Carter." O'Neill said into the radio, watching as Faith and Buffy started field stripping the Jaffa and taking all the weapons they could find.

"We've got a slight problem here sir; we're trapped in a room with an active sarcophagus and a contingent of Jaffa outside the room." Sam reported over the radio causing O'Neill to raise his eyebrow, it was normally him that got into these situations, not his second in command.

"Any other way out?" O'Neill asked hopefully, now regretting the way he had split up the teams. He'd done it directly thinking that his team would take on the most combat while the 'geek squad', as he had labelled it in his head, would take on the computers and engines.

"No sir, just the one door." Sam reported with a sigh.

"Any idea who's inside?" O'Neill asked, not really wanting to hear the reply as he knew the first prime was lying on the floor unconscious at his feet.

"Apophis." Came the one word back over the radio.

"Damnit!" O'Neill yelled, shocking both of the slayers and causing Oz to raise his eyebrow, looking very much like a smaller, skinnier version of Teal'c.

"Stay where you are and find somewhere to hide if it opens, we'll be there as soon as we can, O'Neill out." Clicking the radio back to silent he fastened it back onto his pants before turning back to the slayers.

"Pretty." Buffy said, picking up a small dagger from the body of the first prime.

"Ohhh, is there another?" Faith asked, hunting round for any other blades.

"Just the one, sorry." Buffy said with a grin, twirling the blade in her hand.

"We've got to go, the geek's are in trouble." O'Neill said, shocking Buffy and Faith out of their search. "Set the C4 on radio instead of timer like this," He pulled out a block of C4 from his pack and showed the girls quickly before attaching it to the nearest Glider engine. "Got it?"

"Got it." Faith and Buffy said as Oz just nodded.

"Try and space them out." O'Neill said as he handed the C4 round and watched as Buffy and Faith ran down separate gantries' at speeds that would probably throw his knees and hip out of joint. "How do they do that?" he asked, glancing to Oz with a grin.

"Slayers." Was Oz's one word reply as he set off down the middle gantry.

"Slayers... right..." O'Neill smiled; he still wasn't used to dealing with kids who could fight well enough to take down a first prime and eight more Jaffa on their own. They'd be hell on wheels if they actually had some military training. He grinned as the thought of Buffy and Faith in air force uniforms flashed across his imagination, and then putting them through basic... nah, it's never work... but it would be fun to watch he admitted.

Teal'c just started retrieving C4 from his own backpack and walking round the edge of the glider bay, placing the C4 strategically on the wall near systems he knew were vital. It took them about five minutes to cover the entire bay, but by the end O'Neill was happy that when they blew, it would be a hell of an explosion.

"Right, let's go and rescue the geeks." O'Neill said with a grin, smiling as Buffy grabbed a staff weapon and held it next to her, even though it towered over her by several feet.

"Ok, we just need to hang tight; O'Neill's group will be here soon to help us get out of here." Sam explained to the group who were all looking at the sarcophagus cautiously.

"Who's Apophis then?" Willow asked Daniel, she'd heard the anger when he said that name before.

"He took my wife, put a Goa'uld inside her." Daniel said, keeping his voice as low and emotionless as possible even though he wanted nothing more than to open the sarcophagus and unload his P90 into Apophis' chest.

"Is she..." Willow let the question trail off, not wanting to actually voice her thoughts.

"She's dead. Teal'c killed her to save my life." Daniel admitted, finally having overcome the fact that one of his best friends had killed his wife.

"Oh goddess, I'm sorry." Willow said, horrified that such a thing would have happened.

"Thank you." Daniel let a small smile grace his features before a click came from the sarcophagus, startling them all and causing them to watch as the light went out from inside.

"That isn't good right?" Willow asked as Sam and Daniel readied their P90's ready for the sarcophagus to open.

"Get behind us." Daniel whispered to Willow and Giles, who promptly moved behind him and Sam.

With another soft click the sarcophagus opened, the lid of it splitting in two down the middle and sliding to each side. Willow and Giles just backed up so they were against the far wall, staying as far as they could away from the being inside. As Apophis rose, Sam took her chance and fired on him as he was rising to an upright position, the bullets impacted harmlessly against a shimmering golden shield a few inches from his body. There was a smirk on Apophis' face as he turned to face the four humans.

"Jaffa, Kree." Apophis yelled, his voice inhuman and distorted. The doors opened and the Jaffa entered to surround the group.

"Nope, not good." Willow said softly, looking wide eyed at the smirking alien as his eyes flashed white. "Not good at all."

"The sarcophagus room should be just ahead O'Neill." Teal'c said as the team ran though the corridor as fast as they could, Buffy and Faith pulled ahead every so often but paused at every corridor to make sure it was safe for the rest of them.

"Just here, on the right." O'Neill shouted so that Buffy and Faith could have their fun with any Jaffa that were waiting, he watched, half amused and half horrified as Buffy and Faith immediately ran into the open door where Apophis and his contingent of Jaffa were waiting.

He ran as fast he could, watching as Teal'c and Oz pulled away from him at speeds he could only match in his youth. Oz ignited his lightsaber mid stride as he turned the corner into the room where Buffy and Faith had just run.

"Huh," Was the only word that came from the room as O'Neill approached it. "Didn't expect that."

"What?" O'Neill said as he finally turned the corner a few steps behind Teal'c, P90 at the ready and expecting to walk into a clusterfuck.

"Um, are you sure we got the right room?" Faith asked, motioning to the empty room.

"He was here." Teal'c said, nodding to the empty sarcophagus in the center of the room.

"So were they." O'Neill commented as he walked over to the sarcophagus and picked up a flattened round from a P90. "No blood though, must have had his shield up."

"So where are they?" Buffy asked with a hint of panic in her voice.

"Apophis would have taken them for questioning. He will be curious about RupertGiles and WillowRosenberg as he has not encountered them before." Teal'c informed the group.

"So? Where did he take them?" Faith asked impatiently.

"He would have taken them to the control room where he could question them in front of the Jaffa to show his superiority over them." Teal'c said in a matter of fact tone.

"Will he hurt them?" Oz demanded, his cool facade dropping for a moment.

"He will." Teal'c said.

"Right, let's go and show this snake not to mess with the scoobies." Faith said as a predatory grin slipped across her face.

O'Neill just groaned, this meant they were heading right into the lion's den, grimacing at the thought he pulled his hand down his face slowly.

"Hey, which way to the control room?" Faith asked, pausing at the door.

"Where is the Shol'va Teal'c?" Apophis demanded again before backhanding Sam across the face.

Sam just took it, spitting out some blood before looking up at Apophis defiantly.

"Maybe you do not care about your own pain, what about the pain of others." Apophis stated, his unearthly voice reverberating through the room and causing Willow to shiver slightly.

Sam could only watch as Apophis raised his hand with a hand device strapped to it in front of Willow's face, she'd seen what it did to people, she'd experienced the pain of it herself, there was no way a sixteen year old girl should have to be put through that. She almost breathed a sigh of relief when he passed over Willow and raised his hand in front of Giles face.

"You will tell me of the new weapon the Tau'ree possess." Apophis demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking..." Giles was cut off as Apophis let loose a stream on energy into his forehead from the hand device, causing him to scream in agony.

"He doesn't know anything!" Willow screamed as she watched Giles writhe about in pain.

"Be silent in front of your God!" Apophis spat at her as he stopped the torture and let Giles slip into unconsciousness.

"You're not a God..." A voice came from behind Apophis causing him to spin round in anger. "Hell, you barely even rate as a man."

"Who dares?" Apophis shouted in anger as he raised his hand device to throw a wave to energy at the intruder.

"You know, I was going to just watch and let my friends handle this themselves, but you're too big of an asshole not to take out myself." Xander grinned at the furious look on Apophis' face as he walked across the room, emerald flames licking around his body and power shining from his eyes. "When you raised that thing to Willow I was tempted to take it away from you then, including the hand it's on."

"Jaffa, Kree!" Apophis shouted, causing all the Jaffa in the command room to fire their staff weapons at Xander.

Willow winced slightly as the bolts of energy impacted into Xander's form, exploding as they hit his body and covering the area in smoke.

"Kree." Apophis said with a smirk as he looked on at the cloud of smoke where Xander was standing.

"Can we get some ventilation in here please? This can't be good for my lungs." Xander said with an exaggerated cough as he walked out from the thick cloud of smoke and waved his hand in front of his face.

"What are you?" Apophis demanded as he watched Xander walk towards him.

"I'm the protector of Earth, that planet there." Xander said with a flourish as he pointed out the window to Earth. "I was quite happy to stand back, and let them protect themselves. I was only going to step in if you started destroying things from orbit. I was going to let you leave this solar system in peace." Xander said the last with an air of finality in his voice.

"And how are you going to stop me?" Apophis said with a sneer. "I am a God!" He roared at Xander, raising his hand up and firing a stream of energy directly at him.

Xander just stood there and let the energy wash over him like a soft breeze. He held his hands out, inspecting them for a minute before looking down at his chest with a smirk. "That's your attack?" he said with a grin, waving his hand and teleporting all of the Jaffa from the bridge back to their home worlds. "You are a snake, a parasite that likes to play at god." With a flash he destroyed the bonds holding Sam, Willow, Daniel and Giles in place.

"You have no idea what true power is." Xander waved his hand again and the rest of the ships outside disappeared.

"He can do that?" Sam whispered to Willow, her eyes wide with shock.

Willow just nodded numbly, she was just starting to realize just how powerful Xander was now.

"Let me make myself perfectly clear. You will leave this solar system and you will tell every other snake out there that earth is under my protection. The next time I see you, or any of your ships coming to earth, I will show no mercy." Xander waved his hand a third time and in a bright green flash O'Neill, Teal'c, Buffy, Faith, Oz and Jenny appeared in the room next to him.

"You have a chance to live, what do you say?" Xander turned back to Apophis, his words dripping with power, the soft tone they were said with making the threat even more palpable.

"You dare to order your God?" Apophis shouted, raising his hand again and readying to fire another energy blast in Xander's direction.

Xander didn't give him chance however, as soon as Apophis had raised his arm he had created a lightsaber construct in his own hand, as Apophis prepared to fire an energy blast at him he ignited the blade and swung it round.

As the energy blast flowed over him he swung down the blade, severing Apophis' arm at the shoulder, the plasma blade cauterising the wound instantly. "Last chance." Xander said, his tone daring Apophis to try anything else.

Everyone else was just looking on in shock, they knew Xander had a short fuse when it came to his friends and family, but to do something like this for them was unheard of.

"Xander, let him go." Jenny said, walking over to him and placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Why? He's killed hundreds, if not thousands, maybe millions of people. Anyone? Does he deserve to live?" Xander asked, looking at each of the group in turn.

"We're not assassins Xander, we don't kill like this, and even if we were, it wouldn't be you that did it." O'Neill said, placing his hand on Xander's arm gently and pushing it down slowly so the lightsaber was pointed to the floor.

"Just go." Xander said, and with a wave of his hand teleported Apophis and all the Jaffa on the ship back to Apophis home world.

"That's gross." Willow was the first one to say something after a short awkward silence.

"What?" Xander asked, confused at the direction the conversation had taken.

Willow just nodded to the dismembered arm on the floor, even though there was no blood from the cauterised would, it was still disconcerting to see a severed arm on the floor between them.

"Um, what are you going to do about the ship?" O'Neill asked is his most hopeful tone.

"You want it?" Xander asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Do we want it? A ship with a full complement of gliders and hyperspace drive? Hell yes we want it." O'Neill was practically shouting with joy, he'd finally got his ship. This would put a lot of minds at rest back at the pentagon.

"Giles..." Willow said, smiling as Giles started to regain consciousness.

"Is he alright?" O'Neill asked as Sam checked his vision and pulse.

"Nothing a good night's rest won't cure, I'd like to get him checked over by Janet though, just to be sure." Sam said with a smile.

"This is going to be a hell of a report." O'Neill said with a grin as he thought of Hammonds face when he told him that they had a mothership. "And we've still got to get you all to sign some paperwork about this all."

"Do we have to?" Buffy and Faith practically whined in sync.

"I'm afraid so." Daniel said sympathetically, he remembered how much paperwork he had to fill in on returning from Abydos; least of all was getting his status changed back from deceased.

"Xander, any chance you can..." O'Neill waved his fingers at him. "You know, back to the SGC? We'll leave this puppy in orbit by the moon."

"Sure." Xander said with a smile, turning round to take one last glance at the earth. "It's nice up here isn't it?"

"Sure is son, sure is." O'Neill smiled, putting arm round his sons shoulder and thanking whatever god's were listening that they had found each other, and were working for the same cause, just on different fronts.

"Is Giles going to be ok?" Buffy asked as she sat down at the briefing room table with the rest of the Scooby gang.

"He'll be fine; Janet is just keeping him in for observation to make sure the hand device didn't screw up anything vital." O'Neill explained, having spent a lot of time in the infirmary himself he could explain the doctor's procedures better than most of the nurses on staff.

"Cool." Faith said with a smile, she'd come to think of Giles as an almost father figure now, the way he treated her and Xander was like a father should, like Jack treated Xander.

"I'm sorry it got that far up there guys, I should have stepped in sooner but I..." Xander trailed off, not sure how to put what he was feeling into words.

"Hey we're all alright; we made it and got these guys a cool spaceship out of it. Looks like a win win situation to me." Faith smiled, she knew how hard it was for Xander to step in like that, he'd always been so sure about not overusing his powers and letting people handle their own problems.

"I just didn't want to see you guys get hurt." Xander explained.

"I know, and thank you." Daniel said, his eyes showing the gratitude that couldn't be said.

"I don't want to step in and start solving everyone's problems, but on the other side I don't want to see anyone get hurt because of what I didn't do." Xander tried to explain his predicament again.

"It sounds like you've got a lot of thinking to do son." General Hammond smiled at Xander, he'd caused so much paperwork and hassle at the SGC, but had also saved the entire planet and given them a mothership on a silver platter.

"What should I do?" Xander asked, facing General Hammond directly.

"I can't tell you that, I don't see the world as you do." Hammond tried to imagine what everything must look like to the young boy sitting at the table in combats and t-shirt; it was a far cry from how he looked when he was wearing his uniform.

"Would you like to?" Xander asked, an idea forming in his head.

"What?" Hammond asked, unsure of what the young man was offering here.

"Would you like to see the world, as I do, just for a minute or two?" Xander repeated the offer.

"To help you make this decision?" Hammond clarified, smiling when Xander nodded at him. "Why not."

As soon as the words had left Hammonds lips a green flash engulfed them both and they were gone.

"Where did he take him?" O'Neill asked, curious to find out what Xander was actually going to show Hammond.

"Knowing Xander, anywhere." Faith said with a grin.

"Is that...?" Hammond couldn't even find the words to explain what he was feeling or seeing. He knew he was safe, he could feel something solid under his feet, even though when he looked down there was nothing but open space and stars glittering in the distance.

"That's us." Xander smiled.

"Our entire..." Hammond could barely speak; the sheer size of what he was seeing dwarfed anything he had ever seen before.

"Our galaxy. We're a few million light years away from it now, watching it spin." Xander smiled, pointing over to the distance. "There's Andromeda and over there in the distance is Pegasus, but this one, this one's all ours."

Hammond just stood; slack jawed at what he was being shown. The galaxy had always been such a huge place for him, with thousands, if not millions of stargate's to explore, but this... this was amazing.

"The galaxy doesn't seem like such a large place anymore does it?" Xander smiled, quickly creating a green bench for them to sit on.

"It's so small." General Hammond finally said, ignoring how stupid he must sound.

"It is, I can go out further if you like, show you how many galaxies there really are out there." Xander smiled as Hammond shook his head quickly.

"I'm fine just here." Hammond said, sitting down and starting to come more at ease with the situation.

"I see it every day like this, every minute of every day. I can glance up and tell you how many stars there are in the sky, or look down and tell you how many atoms are dancing on your fingernail. It's all the same to me." Xander let that sink in before finishing. "I look up and I see the Goa'uld attacking everyone, I see war's being fought on other worlds, destroying entire continents, but I don't know what to do. Should I step in and stop them? Or let them make their own way?"

"You could stop them? Stop a world war?" Hammond asked, now starting to get his head around what sort of power the young man was dealing with here.

"Easily, or I could use this..." Xander paused for a second; holding out his hand as a green flash appeared in it and a small green ring appeared. "This ring, this small piece of jewellery is the most powerful weapon ever conceived. It can shatter atoms with a thought, or propel you into hyperspace to travel between planets at your whim. All it needs is to be charged, something I can do with a thought."

Hammond didn't know what to say, a small ring, something so innocuous could be so deadly.

"Would that be right? To bring about the Green Lanterns to this galaxy?" Xander asked, now seriously contemplating the thought as he slipped the ring onto his finger.

"How many? One? A hundred? A thousand? Ten thousand patrolling the galaxy, keeping worlds safe from the Goa'uld?" Xander asked, almost demanded to know the answer.

"One ring could defeat the Goa'uld?" Hammond asked, now quite afraid of the ring that was perched on the young man's finger.

"Easily, and it's a decimal of a fraction of a percentage compared to the power I posses. So, what would you have me do?" Xander asked, now curious as to what General Hammond thought, now that he knew everything and had seen how he saw the galaxy.

"I don't know." General Hammond admitted finally.

"And here we are, back where we started." Xander said with a grin. "I want to help, I want to keep the earth safe, but where does it stop? One planet or ten planets? One solar system or one galaxy? Where do I draw the line?"

"You know, my father always said; don't worry about what you can't do. Just worry about the things you do do." Hammond said with a smile. "Start with one, one planet, one ring and work from there."

"It could work?" Xander said hopefully.

"It might, but if it doesn't you can always fix it." Hammond smiled at the way Xander laughed at that.

"I can at that." Xander grinned and took of the ring, holding it for a second he felt the power flash through him before charging the ring to full capacity.

"Can we go back now? I'm getting dizzy just watching it swirl round like that." Hammond asked, his voice full of good natured humour.

"Sure, thanks." Xander smiled softly at the man who had helped his father through so much, and had now helped him make the most difficult decision he had ever had to make.

In a flash of green light they were gone, leaving nothing behind to show their presence in the space between galaxies.

"Wondered how long you two would be." O'Neill smiled as the green flash appeared in the room signalling that Xander and the general were back.

"General Hammond Sir, are you alright?" Sam asked, glancing at the generals wide eyed look with concern. "What did you show him?"

"I'm sure he'll tell you, when he's ready." Xander said with a grin. "Faith, Buffy, I want you two to have these, but don't put them on yet."

Keeping the original ring held tightly in his left hand, he copied the entire ring and made two copies, perfect down to the atomic detail on the top. Scanning them quickly he was satisfied with his work and held them out for Buffy and Faith to take.

"But isn't this..." Faith reached up only to find the ring around her neck was gone. "What happened to it?"

"It was part of what I wanted to ask the general about." Xander answered, smiling as Faith held it in her hand softly.

"But... Willow... she told me what these things can do." Buffy said, almost afraid of the ring she was being offered.

"Buffy, this isn't going to make things easier. I won't lie to you, I'm asking you to help defend earth, not just from the supernatural, but from everything now." Xander explained with a reassuring smile.

"It can do everything Willow said it can do?" Buffy asked wide eyed.

"And more." Xander said, smiling when she finally accepted the ring and closed her hand around it. "I want you guys to have this as well..." Closing his eyes he concentrated for a second before a bright green flash appeared on the desk before subsiding and leaving a bright green phone there, pretty much the same as the red one on the other side of the desk, but this one didn't have any buttons on it.

"This will contact you?" Hammond guessed, smiling when Xander nodded.

"It will contact me, or if I'm not around Buffy or Faith, whichever's nearest." Xander explained. "That was I'll always know you can get hold of us if you need us."

"That's a weight of my mind." Hammond said with a smile, holding out his hand to shake Xander's firmly. "Thank you." He said, looking directly into Xander's eyes to show how much what he had seen meant to him.

"Just call us if you need us." Xander said with a grin.

"The same goes for you guys, you really helped us out there, if you ever need anything just call." O'Neill said with a grin, slapping Xander on the shoulder.

"Seconded." Daniel said.

"Same here." Sam agreed.

"Indeed." Teal'c said with a glint in his eye.

"I guess we'd better be off then, don't want to leave Sunnydale unprotected for too long, never know what's happening there." Xander grinned; he'd been keeping an eye on Sunnydale the entire time, nothing but a few fledglings that he had dusted quickly.

"What about Mr Giles?" Daniel asked.

"Call us when he's fine to go, I'll come and get him." Xander said with a smile. "Well, until next time." With a wave from everyone the group disappeared in a flash of green light.

"You're son is quite the extraordinary man." Hammond said to O'Neill as he sat down in his chair again.

"He is at that." O'Neill agreed with a smile. "So, what did he show you?"

Hammond just laughed softly before answering with two words. "Another viewpoint."

AN: wow... that was a long chapter to write...

Hope everyone's still enjoying this as much as I am :D

M 


	20. Chapter 20

"So how did you all enjoy your first adventure in space?" Xander asked as the group settled down for a meal.

"Never again." Giles said softly. "I like to keep my feel firmly planted on the ground thank you."

Xander just chuckled under his breath. "What about you two?" pausing for a second he looked at Buffy and Faith, who were still holding their rings in the hand, almost afraid to put them on for the first time. "Girls?"

"What? Sorry." Buffy said, barely taking her eyes of the ring in her hand. "It's just... are you sure Xander?"

"Yeah Xan, I mean from the way Red and you describe these things... it just seems like a lot of power to just be handing over like that." Faith said, happy that he trusted her enough to give her the ring, but afraid of what it could do if it fell into the wrong hands.

"Look, I didn't give them to you so you could just hold them and stare at them. Put them on." Xander smiled, he remembered how he was at first when he was first accepting his powers.

"Will it hurt?" Buffy asked, unsure of what would happen.

"No, it will be perfectly fine." Xander reassured them as he watched them slowly slide the rings onto their fingers.

The change was immediate, there was a bright green flash then enveloped both girls and when it subsided they were sat there in tight green lantern uniforms with masks over their eyes.

"My god." Giles let out, causing Jenny to chuckle and Xander to smile.

"The uniform goes on and comes off at will, so all you have to do is want to change." Xander informed them, as Buffy stood up and looked in a mirror.

"Got to say Xander, I don't think green is really my colour." Buffy said with a grin as she traced the outline of her mask on her face.

"I think it looks wicked cool." Faith grinned doing a twirl. "Easier than changing clothes every day as well."

"It'll take a bit of getting used to." Xander said with a smile, remembering his first misadventures in creating constructs. "Why don't you try using the rings?"

"Using them for what?" Faith asked, not quite sure how to use them or how they worked.

"Imagine something, say a sword. Picture it in your mind and will it into existence." Xander explained, holding out his hand and creating a katana as an example.

"Ohh... right... hold on..." Buffy paused, closing her eyes and concentrating for a second before a shimmering green long sword appeared in her hand. "Wow... just... wow."

"Now you Faith," Xander smiled at Buffy and turned to Faith. She closed her eyes, concentrating before a sword appeared in her hand as well.

"That's it? All we have to do is imagine it and will it, and we have it?" Faith asked, almost amused at how simple it was.

"That's it, get rid of those and try something else." Xander smiled as the swords disappeared.

Faith was first, closing her eyes for a second before a longbow appeared in her hands complete with a holster full of arrows on her back.

"Nicely done faith, though you've got to remember you don't need the arrows as well, just 'will' a new one into your hand every time you shoot one off." Xander smiled, moving over so he could kiss her lightly.

Buffy just paused for a second before creating a large crossbow and smiling.

"So you've both got it, we'll have dinner and then we'll see about flying lessons." Xander grinned as Buffy went a little pale at the thought.

As the group sat down for their meal the conversation drifted off to different things, how Faith was going to adapt at school when they started next week, and how the existence of aliens was now a real fact for them. The meal was over quite quickly and Willow and Oz walked home, each treasuring their 'moon rock' they had personally picked up.

"You want to join us for some air time Jenny?" Xander asked with a smile as he led the girls into Giles' back garden.

"No thanks, you three have fun up there and be careful. I'll stay here with Giles, now he's all rested and better from that thing that Apophis shot at him." Jenny smiled, wrapping her arm around Giles causing him to smile back.

"Ok, if you're sure." Xander grinned as he walked out the door, followed by a nervous Faith and Buffy.

"Xan, you sure about this?" Faith asked, eying the ring on her hand wearily.

"Yeah, I mean, isn't this a bit 'too much' power?" Buffy asked, now thinking of what the rings could actually accomplish for her.

"That's what I thought, at least at first. General Hammond helped me come to a decision about it though." Xander explained, thinking back to the conversation that he and the General had had, sitting there in the space between galaxies.

"Decision about what?" Faith asked, curious as to what they had actually been talking about.

"About these..." Xander grinned, making the rings shine with power as the two slayers looked at them with awe. "And about what I should do."

"You're rebuilding The Corps?" Faith asked curiously. Ever since she had found out exactly what Xander was capable of she'd been reading up on the Green Lantern comics, hunting down every issue of the new stuff so she would have something to compare Xander to.

"No," Xander said simply as they walked into the middle of Giles' garden. "The Guardians were wrong, they were emotionless, all they cared about was keeping the universe neat and orderly, but if I did that, if we did that, nothing would ever change."

"So we're not going to be space cops then?" Buffy asked, Willow had given her a quick rundown of what a Green Lantern was, but it was different now, it wasn't some abstract idea in a comic, she was a Green Lantern now.

Xander just chuckled. "No, not space cops Buffy, if we're needed then yes, we'll step up, but if not then I say we leave it to my dad and his team." Xander smiled at the look of relief on both of the slayers faces, they both obviously knew what being a Green Lantern entailed, but were a little nervous about actually doing it themselves.

"So, just keep to the slaying and leave the aliens to the experts then?" Faith asked, simplifying it down as much as she could in her mind.

Xander nodded with a smile. "So, we going to talk all night or do you two want to actually feel the best part of being a Green Lantern?"

Buffy and Faith just looked at him with puzzled expressions, what could be better than what they'd seen already. Weapons that came to hand with a thought, that was every Slayers dream, not being vulnerable to being disarmed in a fight or running out of ammo, these were the things that were forefront in the slayers mind. Now, this simple ring on their fingers had made all that worry obsolete.

"Flying." Xander said with a grin as he started moving upwards slowly, stopping when he was about ten feet off the ground.

"We can fly?" Buffy asked, ignoring that grin that spread across her face.

"Without your help? On our own?" Faith finished off the questions that Buffy was thinking.

"Just think happy thoughts." Xander said before breaking out in a grin at the scowling faces that were now levelled his way. "Kidding, just think about it, imagine it happening and then will it to happen."

"Right... imagine..." Faith said, closing her eyes as a look of concentration spread across her face.

"Faith, if you close your eyes you'll end up flying into a tree." Xander said with a laugh.

"It's just weird ok, trying to picture yourself flying while seeing the world." Faith explained, trying to put into words how difficult it was to imagine herself doing something that she knew should be impossible, of course the limits of what was possible were being changed all the time around Xander and her new friends.

"I get it, I do." Xander said, coming back down and standing in between the two girls. "You're trying to do something that everything you've ever been told says you can't. I get it, but with these..." Xander paused, taking the girls hands and lifting them up so their rings were at eye level. "With these rings, anything is possible."

"Right... Up!" Buffy said, holding her hands together and closing her eyes briefly before remembering what Xander had said. "Up!" she said again, with more conviction this time.

Faith and Xander just stood back, smiling as they watched Buffy take to the air, slowly as first then gaining speed until she was about thirty feet of the ground. "Now you." Xander said, smiling at Faith.

"Here goes." Faith paused, shaking herself loose before glancing up and willing herself into the air.

Xander just smiled as he watched Faith move up so she was next to Buffy, both of them just hanging in the air. Smiling to himself he flew up next to them, smiling at them both. "Wasn't as hard as you thought then?"

"With all the impossible things we've seen you do?" Buffy said with a grin.

"Yeah, flying is easy compared to fighting a vamp or demon." Faith finished off as she looked around.

"Ready to go a bit higher?" Xander asked, grinning as he was rewarded with two thousand watt grins from the girls as they took off into the night sky.

"Guess so." Xander smiled, shaking his head as he watched the two green streaks of light vanish into the clouds. Glancing around to make sure no one saw them take off he quickly headed off to catch up with the girls, flying was definitely one of the best abilities he'd been given, and now he could share it with two of the women he was closest to.

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No one was around as the limousine pulled into the fast food restaurant across town, the three bright streaks of green in the night sky had disappeared into the clouds without anyone noticing them ever have been there.

The reflection of the strip lights reflected off the hood of the car as it drove up to the window ready to place the food order of the driver. Smiling his best smile the attendant turned away from his Physics books he'd been studying for college and swung round on his chair to receive the order.

"What can I get you?" He asked with his best smile as the window slowly moved down with a buzz of electric wiring in the expensive limo.

The man behind the counter didn't have time to back away; he barely had time to scream as the vampire lunged out of the window and pulled him into the limo with him. The driver started driving, ignoring the screams coming from the back seat as the vampire drained the body dry.

"Did you have to do that?" The second occupant of the limo asked, pausing as he looked at the face of the attendant, frozen in horror as it tumbled lifelessly to the floor of the limousine before coming to a rest against his legs.

"No," The first occupant said with a grin as he wiped some of the spilt blood off his black silk shirt. "But it was fun."

Laughter echoed the car for a moment before the door was opened and the dead body was flung out onto the ground, the limo didn't even stop before speeding away into the night.

"We're here for the slayer." The second vampire said.

"Think about the big picture, I mean this town... hello darkness; it has a death rate that makes DC look like nowheresville Kansas." The first vampire said, slipping back into his normal face.

"What about the Green Death?" The first vampire said, leaning forward as his scarred visage was highlighted by the streetlight as they stopped at a crossroads. "I'd heard stories of him Trick."

"Hasn't been seen in months, folks say that Angelus took care of him before the slayer got Angelus." Trick explained. "I've looked into it, nothing here but the slayer now."

"Good, and soon I will feast on her." The other vampire said with a snarl, sitting back into the shadows of the car as it moved off again.

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"So seniors now." Xander said with a grin as he walked into the library, followed by Buffy and Faith. "Hey guys."

"Hey, how was it last night?" Willow asked, wanting to know every detail about how the flight had gone.

"Oh amazing, boytoy had us doing flips and twirls up there for hours, I never wanted to come down." Faith confessed, it was the most amazing feeling in the world being up there, flying under your own power, being completely separated from the world around you by a soft green glow.

"Yeah, these things are pretty amazing." Buffy said, rubbing the ring on her finger with her other hand.

"I can well imagine." Giles said as he came in from his office, carrying some books and a white bowel. "Now we have to deal with Acathla, make sure he can never be awakened again."

"I'll deal with that Giles, I'll just send him where I put The Judge, should take care of that." Xander explained, concentrating for a second as he teleported the stone statue from its resting place in Angel's mansion to the center of the sun. "Done." He grinned at the slack jawed look Giles was giving him.

"May I ask where you sent him?" Giles asked, out of curiosity if nothing else.

"The sun." Xander said off hand as he flipped open his sketch book and started doodling, it was one of the things he truly loved now, over the holidays he hadn't had much time to himself but now he was back in school and everything was back to normal he planned on getting as much time in with his drawings as he could.

"You send him to the sun?" Giles asked, surprised when Xander just nodded at him. "Well, I suppose that would do the trick, even if it doesn't destroy him, which I doubt it will, he'll never be able to escape and no one will be able to release him. A good choice of imprisonment Xander."

"Huh?" Xander asked, not really paying attention.

"He said you did good Xan." Faith explained as she sat down next to him.

"Right, good." Xander smiled, kissing Faith before going back to his doodle.

"Well I've got go and see Snyder about my classes." Faith said, standing up.

"I'll join you, guy's a complete troll." Buffy said walking over to Faith, smiling as Faith grinned at her.

"I've got Art first thing, so I'm going to head off and get some supplies ready." Xander said with a smile as he shoved his sketchpad back into his rucksack and stood up.

"English." Buffy said with a frown.

"Me too." Faith said, glancing at her schedule that was pretty much identical to Buffy's.

"Well I'll see you two lovely ladies later then." Xander smiled, kissing Faith softly before jogging out of the library.

"Yes, well, make sure you get everything sorted Faith, we don't want Principal Snyder to give your back story too much notice." Giles explained, the Watchers council had begrudgingly created Faith a good back story about moving here from Boston, though Giles had yet to see it in person so he didn't know how much scrutiny it would withstand.

"Will do." Faith smiled as she and Buffy left the library.

"Hmmm, Sage..." Willow smiled, picking up a tied bunch of herbs off the desk from in front of Giles. "You know a sprinkling of this mixed with virgins' saliva..." She broke off, noticing the look that Giles was giving her. "Does absolutely nothing I would know about." She finished off lamely.

"These forces are not something one plays around with Willow, what have you been conjuring?" Giles asked, his voice showing concern under a stern tone.

"Nothing really, I mean, I did the spell to cure Angel because we didn't know Xander was going to take care of it... since then small things, floating feather, fire from ice... which next time I won't do on the bed spread." Willow trailed off; looking nervously at the look Giles was sending her way.

"Willow, these forces of nature are not to be trifled with, some of these spells can be particularly dangerous to the caster, there is no telling what an untrained witch like yourself could be capable of." Giles finished off, letting concern fill his voice.

"I know Giles; I just want to help out. I mean Xander's practically a God, and Buffy and Faith have their rings now, Oz is a werewolf but I'm..."

"You're just you, I understand Willow." Giles smiled, it was understandable, especially dealing with the amount of power that the two slayers and Xander had been flashing around. Willow just wanted to be able to do something to help. "Would it help if I walked you through some of the simpler incantations? Nothing dangerous, just to help you find a grounding to work from?"

"That would be great, I mean I don't want power like Xander or anything, I just want to be able to help out." Willow smiled, showing Giles that she was honest about just wanting to help with everything.

"And that's all well and good; I assume you have a free period right now?" Giles paused as Willow nodded to him. "Well then, you say you practiced basic gravity manipulation and transmutation of elements, would you care to show me?"

Willow grinned in earnest, not expecting such acceptance to come from Giles over this.

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"So, what's that plan for tonight then?" Xander asked as the group of scabies walked off of campus. The day had been pretty much the usual, the normal inductions for the new year with Faith catching up on her classes.

"Quick patrol then Bronze?" Willow asked, still on a high from her talk with Giles earlier.

"Sounds good, wanna take the sky or ground B?" Faith asked with a grin, it was nice being able to share the duties of slayer, now they didn't have to worry so much about being overcrowded with vamps it was easier for them to split up for the nights patrol, one taking the cemeteries and one talking the skies, looking out for demons or vamps from up there.

"I'll take the ground, haven't got the whole flying thing down yet." Buffy said with a grin, it still made her nervous when she was up there, no matter how exhilarating the experience, the slayer in her rebelled against her body doing something completely unnatural for it.

"Sounds good, I'll take the sky with Faith, You Willow and Oz can take the cemeteries." Xander smiled, it was nice paring like that and now Buffy had the ring with her, and was happy using it, he knew that Willow and Oz would be in safe hands with her, even if he was watching her ever step of the way.

"I've got to make an appearance at home first; my mom's still questioning why I'm always out so late, she thinks I've got a new boyfriend or something." Buffy explained with a grin. "So, I'll catch you all later, say about eight at Giles' place?"

"Sounds good B, see you then." Faith smiled as she watched her sister ring bearer walk off towards her home, it was nice having a group like this to rely on for things.

"I've got to get some practice in anyway; we're playing The Bronze on Friday." Oz noted before kissing Willow and heading off to his van.

"So Will's, what's put you in the happy bouncy mood today?" Xander asked, as the three started their walk away from the school.

"It's nothing." Willow smiled, brushing her hair behind her ear and turning away from Xander as Faith started snuggling into his arm.

"Yeah, come on Red, you've been glowing all day, did you and Oz finally make with the naughtiness?" Faith asked, making Willow blush so hard she would have made The Devil look pale.

"It's nothing really; Giles has just been helping me with some things." Willow tried to explain, not wanting to make her friends worry about what she was doing.

"Oh?" Xander raised his eyebrow in a good impression of Teal'c.

"He's just been helping me, since you're all godlike now," Willow paused, nodding at Xander. "And you and Buffy have those rings," Willow paused again as Faith rubbed the ring on her finger unconsciously. "I've just been feeling a bit left out that's all. So Giles is going to help me work on some spells."

"Magic Willow?" Xander said, concern evident in his voice.

"Go Red, working the voodoo." Faith grinned.

"Nothing major, just floating things and working with the elements at the moment, but Giles says I have good control." Willow beamed, remembering Giles' face when she first showed him how easy it was for her to turn ice into fire.

"Just be careful ok Willow? I know how dangerous that stuff can be, I don't want to see you get hurt by it." Xander said, not wanting to overstep the mark but wanting to keep Willow safe all the same.

"Giles will be with me all of the way Xander, he warned me about casting on my own and I won't. I'll only do it with his supervision." Willow beamed; it was nice that her friends had accepted what she was doing; now she just had to tell Oz about it.

The trio continued walking on, each deep in their own thoughts about the changes that the past year had brought on for them when Xander paused mid-step, nearly causing Faith to trip over him.

"What's wrong?" Faith asked, concerned as to why Xander had stopped suddenly.

"It's General Hammond, he's asking for me." Xander replied, a confused look on his face as he tried to concentrate on the conversation he was having with General Hammond and talking with Faith at the same time as he tried to start walking again.

"Is everything alright with your pops?" Faith asked, spotting an empty area by the track fields where they wouldn't be disturbed if Xander needed to leave suddenly.

"He says it's something to do with the Oversight committee and they're demanding to see me about the protection I've offered earth." Xander explained, following Faith over to the track field away from the dissipating students.

"Right, politics then." Faith said, shaking her head as Willow grinned.

"Looks like, are you going to be alright for patrol tonight?" Xander asked, kissing Faith softly as she nodded. "I'll try and be back in time, but if not try and remember what I taught you about using the ring. Just imagine what you need and you'll have it."

"I got it." Faith grinned, "Now go play with the army boys."

"Air Force." Xander grinned back, quickly flashing into his uniform before teleporting to General Hammond's office at the SGC.

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"You wanted to see me?" Xander asked as he appeared in General Hammond's office.

"Take a seat son." General Hammond nodded to the chair by the desk as he pressed a small button on an intercom system. "Airman, could you tell SG1 to come to my office please."

"So, what's this about the oversight committee asking to see me?" Xander asked, appearing in front of an alien race was one thing, but appearing in front of a senate committee was a bluff to end all bluffs.

"It seems that the oversight committee has been paying special attention to the reports from the SGC lately, and in particular reports about you. While we have kept up the facade about you being from an alien race who has offered us protection in the reports, the committee want to speak with you in person about trade negotiations." General Hammond explained, pausing as SG1 entered the room.

"It is good to see you again XanderO'Neill." Teal'c was the first to speak, bowing his head to Xander as he entered the room.

"Yeah, how's things back in Sunnyhell?" Jack asked, walking over to embrace his son in a tight hug. "You treating that girl of yours right?"

"I'm sure Faith can take care of herself Jack." Sam beat Xander to the reply with a grin.

"Yeah, everything's fine dad, General Hammond was just filling me in about this oversight committee wanting to meet with me to discuss trading." Xander smiled as he shook Daniels hand and everyone took a seat.

"They'll be arriving in approximately one hour with the team from Area fifty one who are going to be trained aboard the Goa'uld mother ship you brought back." General Hammond paused as Xander glanced around with a nervous twitch in his eye. "Is everything alright son?"

"I don't know, something's wrong here, do you mind?" Xander asked as he stood up. Smiling at General Hammond's nod of ascent he started scanning the room, running through radio frequencies until he came across to unfamiliar ones in the office. "I take it you're not recording this meeting?" Xander asked, turning back to the General.

"No, there are no cameras or microphones in this office." Hammond said with certainty.

"Right." Xander grinned as his hand flashed green for a second before he opened his fist to reveal two small radio microphones. "I take it these aren't yours then?" Xander grin became broader as the General just shook his head. "I'll be right back." With that Xander flashed out of the room.

"Um, where'd he go?" Daniel was the first one to ask.

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Xander had been working with his ability to perceive radio waves for a while now, ever since he had been able to follow an Asgard transport beam to the SGC he felt it was something he should work on. So he'd been practicing, first just small things like following a radio station's broadcast back to the source antenna, then more complex things like mobile phones and television signals.

It was easy once he figured out what the signal 'looked like' to him, he could just filter out everything else and follow it like a real of string.

"Bugging a Generals office, not too smart." Xander grinned as he appeared in the corner of an office where two men in full black uniforms were sat using top of the range equipment to listen in to various frequencies.

"What the?!?" One of the men exclaimed, turning to him and drawing his side arm to fire three rounds off at Xander.

"You know, I'm kind of glad I can just dissolve those on impact now, it would be a pain trying to get this suit repaired at a normal tailor." Xander quipped, dissolving the gun with a wave of his hand. "Now, you two are coming with me, or do I have to do this the hard way?"

The two men just stood there as Xander was engulfed in emerald flames, in truth it was possibly the scariest thing they had ever seen, but they were military trained so their brains were automatically at war with their flight reflex to run away.

Xander just stood there, waiting for the two men to make their decision. "Kinda on the clock here guys, so I'll help you decide." With that Xander teleported the men back to the SGC and was left with all the equipment. "So, guess these are the recordings." He muttered to himself as he found various taped and backup equipment marked 'SGC'. Burning them all to ash he walked out the main door, turning in surprise to find he was in an even larger building.

"Huh, better safe than sorry." He quickly glanced at the radio frequencies and cycled through the EM spectrum, making sure there weren't any backups of data hidden anywhere else in the building. Satisfied that the only copies of the data were inside he glanced inside the room, dissolving the entire contents to ash before teleporting back to the SGC.

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"Would you mind explaining who these two gentlemen are?" General Hammond asked as the green flash arrived back in his office.

"These were the men responsible for recording our conversation Hammond of earth." Xander nodded at General Hammond slightly, pausing so that he would get the idea to carry on the charade. "I followed there transmitter signals to their base of operations and neutralized the recordings and any backups they had made."

"It seems we're in your dept again Ion." General Hammond replied, thankful he remembered the right name that Xander had given to the Tollan before. "Airmen, take these two gentlemen to the holding cells for questioning." Hammond paused as four airmen came into the room and took the two shocked men away.

"Are you sure that's all of them?" Jack asked as the door was closed behind the airmen.

"Yup, that's it; this room is now bug free." Xander grinned and sat back down.

"Back to business then." General Hammond glanced at the clock on the wall for a second. "The oversight committee should be arriving soon so I'll set you up in conference room two. I'm sorry we can't be in there with you but we'll be watching."

"Right, and what do they want exactly?" Xander asked, cautious now as he wasn't exactly sure how to proceed from here.

"Firstly they want to thank you for the protection you're giving earth from the Goa'uld, they'll want to ask you a few questions about your powers and then ask you to transport the scientists and crew from Area fifty one up to the Goa'uld mothership in orbit of the moon." Hammond explained slowly, not wanting to cause Xander any alarm.

"Right, so they just want to know who I am and what I'm doing here right?" Xander asked, looking at his father for advice.

"Cakewalk." Jack grinned at his son. "Just feed them the same line you told the Tollan and everyone should be happy."

"Sounds good to me." Xander found himself returning the grin. "Should I be in the conference room to begin with or should I come through the gate to reinforce that I'm from another culture?" Xander asked, thinking ahead to enforce his story.

"That's a good idea, that way they know that you didn't come from earth and the gate logs will show that you arrived while the oversight committee were waiting for you. This is the address for the Earth Stargate," Daniel filled in, handing Xander a crap of paper with six symbols scribbled on it. "You'll need the seventh symbol to make it work, it's normally the one at the top center of the DHD, sorry the Dial Home Device, small control panel with all the symbols of the gate on it, large red button in the middle."

"Right, I'll go and wander the galaxy for a bit," Xander paused for a second, creating a small flat circle shaped device. "Press here when you're ready for me." Xander smiled, handing the device to General Hammond before disappearing in a flash of green light.

"Kid's come and go so fast around here." Jack quipped with a grin as everyone looked at the small device General Hammond was holding in his open hand.

"You think we'll ever get used to that?" Daniel asked, gesturing to where Xander has vanished.

"I'm still having trouble with the fact that he does it at all sir, I mean the energy requirements alone for unaided teleportation are astronomical. Not to mention the fact that he can create solid objects out of nothing..." Sam tried to continue but was cut off by Jack.

"I think we all get it now Carter, he's a God... and not in the 'False God I've got a snake in my head' way, the real deal." Jack smiled, he was just glad he had his son back; the power boost he gave to earth was just a bonus.

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Xander had taken this opportunity to go out further than he ever had before, it had been niggling at the back of his mind for a while about space and what was really out there. It was easy to just glance up and use his powers to do a scan of the area, but it was nothing compared to actually being out here and seeing the wonders of the universe first hand.

He paused for a second as he left the Milky Way galaxy, his home galaxy. Turning around for a second he spared a glance at it all, it was amazing to see the galaxy like this; you could ignore all the wars that were being fought over land, oil or religion. Out here it was just him and the quiet, he liked the quiet.

Turning back on his course he shot away again, the stars turning to a blue and purple hue as he entered hyperspace on his course. He knew where he was going, he just didn't know if there would be anything there when he got there. His destination was OA.

He flew on for what seemed like hours, though because of the speeds he was going at it was actually only minutes. As his brain told him he was reaching the center of the universe he slowed down, dropping out of hyperspace to see what actually awaited him.

As the stars dropped back to their normal white twinkle he looked around, hoping for anything he would recognize from Kyle's memories. The stars looked the same, but the planets weren't. From what he could tell there was only one planet that could support life in this solar system, orbiting a binary star. Flying down he headed towards the planet as fast as he could, wanting to spend as much time exploring before he was needed back at the SGC.

As he passed through the atmosphere he could tell this wasn't OA, it wasn't anything like Guardian architecture. The cities were immense though, even from this height he could make out the buildings. They were all silver; the planet itself was a red hue with blue fields stretching out around the cities. It was obvious that these people were technologically advanced, possibly even at The Guardians level of technology.

Hovering in front of the tallest spire he looked around, looking for any signs of life, anyone at all that he could talk to and ask about the planet. There was no one about, flying higher he stopped just inside the atmosphere and ran a complete scan of the immense city beneath him. Nothing, not one life sign in the entire city.

Moving even higher he scanned from orbit, scanning the entire planet for life signs, again nothing. The planet was deserted. There was only plant life left, not a single life sign on the entire planet. He found the familiar energy signature of the Stargate so he knew he could follow through with the plan to get back to the SGC, but beyond that he was alone on the planet.

Homing in on the Stargate he flew back down to the planet, phasing through one of the spire walls easily to pass into the gate room. Landing on the floor he looked around, trying to gauge what sort of alien race had lived here before... well, he didn't know what had happened to them. There were no bodies, no sign of war. They had simply disappeared.

"Hello?" He shouted, just in case his scan hadn't picked up the life signs for any reason.

When no one responded he moved over, smiling at the lights came on around him as he walked up the steps to what looked like a control room. Pausing for a second he took a good look at the Stargate, it wasn't like the one on earth, it looked more advanced somehow. There wasn't an inner ring and the constellations on it were lit up from the back in a green hue.

"Must be the new model." Xander smiled and continued walking up to the control room. As the lights came on he looked around, it was obviously an advanced civilization that had built this city, the control panels seemed to react to his very presence in the room, lighting up and displaying options above them on a holographic display.

Looking at the writing for a moment he tried to decipher it, it was in no language, human or demon that he had ever come across. Accessing Kyle's memories he checked to see if it was something Kyle had come across before, the same result.

Looking at another control he paused for a second, it looked like something that controlled the gate. It had the same symbols on it that were glowing green on Stargate. Reaching down he pressed one, just to make sure that it was what he thought it was.

The button depressed slightly with a click and the Stargate started humming, looking closer he could see that the symbol on the button he had pressed was now glowing green on the Stargate and the first chevron was glowing green as it locked.

"OK, quick test to earth." Xander smiled, glancing at the controlling device only to wince as he noticed that none of the symbols in the earth address were on the control.

"Um, little help here?" Xander asked out loud as he let his brain run through the symbols to see if he recognised one that would signify this planet.

A voice responded, shocking Xander out of his thoughts as he whirled around to see where it came from, it wasn't in English or any language he had come across. 'Must be the same language as the writing,' he mused.

"Um, don't suppose you speak English?" Xander asked out loud, hoping for some sort of response he could understand.

"Please state the nature of your enquiry." A female voice resounded through the control room and the symbols on the display morphed into more recognizable English.

"Um, tying to get home, Earth, Milky Way galaxy." Xander said out loud, not sure of whom he was talking to or if they understood the names of Earth or Milky Way, but glad of the offer of assistance either way.

"Please enter the first six symbols of the address in the locator database." The voice replied again before going silent.

"Friendly aren't ya." Xander grinned. "Which computer is the locator database?" this time the voice didn't respond, a computer on the far side of the room glowed green softly though and its displays lit up. "Guess that's it."

Moving over to the now active computer he glanced at the 'keyboard' that was in front of him. It wasn't like anything he had seen before; he knew the Stargate on earth only had thirty nine symbols on it. The Stargate in the room beneath him didn't seem that different in size, so he had to guess that it had about the same amount of symbols on it, but the keyboard in front of him had hundreds of symbols on it, most of which he'd never seen before. Scanning through them quickly he finally came across one he recognized as being in the sequence to earth, using that as a place to start looking he quickly found the others.

"Here goes." He muttered softly, punching the gate address to earth into the database, watching in awe as it pulled up earth on the display.

"Terra Atlantis." The computer said in the same female voice.

"Atlantis, right..." Xander paused for a second, huh so Atlantis was real. Not a big stretch compared to mystical bad guys and aliens. "I want to go there."

"Proceed to the Stargate." The computer replied, shutting down the display.

"Looks like a new discovery for the XanMan." Xander grinned, moving back to the stairs and walking down them slowly, watching as the inner track of the Stargate appeared to slide into the larger outer ring before being replaced with another track. "That's new." He muttered, looking at the new inner ring carefully he recognised the same symbols as being on the earth Stargate.

"Right, got to go." He smiled as he felt the button being pressed by General Hammond.

"Dialling Terra Atlantis." The Female voice said again and the lights began to spin round the Stargate, pausing as one of the chevrons locked in with the same green glow.

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"Sir incoming wormhole." Airman Siler informed General Hammond as the Stargate started spinning.

"Right on time." The General Smiled, "would you like to accompany me to the gateroom so that we can greet our guest?"

"After you General." Senator Kinsey replied, stepping back so The General could lead the way. He knew his way around the base of course, but he had to appear friendly in front of the oversight committee towards the General and the staff on the base.

Down in the gateroom General Hammond smiled as the fourth chevron locked in place. "Ion has been an amazing help to us in securing a Goa'uld mothership, with his protection we can finally explore without fear of the Goa'uld attacking us."

The General turned back to the Stargate as the fifth and sixth chevrons locked in place. "Both the Tollan and the Tok'Ra have approached the OA's regarding similar protection for their planets, but I think Ion can explain that better." General Hammond paused at the seventh chevron locked in place but the gate kept spinning. 'must have left the galaxy to make it look even better,' Hammond mused, from the look of the oversight committee it had worked, the only address they knew of outside of the Milky Way galaxy was the home of the Asgard, and he knew this wasn't the address that was being dialled in.

Hammond heard the familiar lock of the eighth chevron and turned to watch the Stargate activate but was surprised when the gate kept spinning.

"General Hammond, what is going on here?" Kinsey asked, confused as none of the reports had ever mentioned the use of the ninth chevron on the gate ever being used.

"This is the first time Ion has come from his homeworld to here through this Stargate, I'm as confused as you are." Hammond chose his words carefully; he spared a glance up at the control room where Captain Carter was starting at the gate with her jaw wide open as the ninth chevron locked into place.

Turning back to the Stargate he was relieved to see the familiar blue event horizon ripple as Xander stepped through the Stargate.

"General Hammond." Xander nodded as he stopped at the base of the ramp as the Stargate disengaged its wormhole.

"Ion, I'm glad you could make it at such short notice." Hammond said with a smile, but his eyes clearly said an explanation was needed.

"Yes, well we're not used to using Stargate's but since the population of your planet isn't aware of alien life yet I thought it would be better than bringing one of our ships into orbit of your planet." Xander explained, hoping that the General wouldn't push and that he could explain later.

"The ships of your planet are large in size then?" Kinsey asked, trying to get a feel for the power than this new ally of earth had to offer.

"Compared to what?" Xander asked, intentionally baiting the Senator for not introducing himself first before asking questions.

"I don't know, compared to a Goa'uld mothership." Kinsey smiled; he knew the rough size of a mothership and could figure out the size of Ion's ships from there.

"Oh, much, much bigger, I'm sorry I didn't catch your name." Xander grinned holding out his hand, he couldn't explain it but he had come to an almost immediate dislike of this man.

"I am Senator Kinsey of the Oversight Committee." Kinsey replied, capitalizing each word with emphasis. "How much bigger?"

"What is the name of the gas giant in your solar system, the one with sixty seven moons and a small ring around it?" Xander asked, mentally running a scan of Jupiter.

"You mean Jupiter son, the gas giant with the red spot on its surface." Hammond explained briefly, wondering where Xander was taking this.

"Right, Jupiter. Roughly that size for a mother ship, transport vessels and 'guardian' class vessels are about the size of Earth." Xander smiled, holding back his expression that was threatening to split into a giant grin as Kinsey seemed to be doing a good impression of a fish while the other members of the oversight committee were looking at him with more respect now. "Shall we get down to business now?"

"Of... of course Mr Ion." Kinsey stuttered out as General Hammond led them out of the gateroom to conference room two.

"If you'd like to take a seat gentlemen, I can have some refreshments brought up to you." General Hammond smiled as he opened the room and the oversight committee and Xander filed in.

"No thank you General Hammond, though I would like to see SG1 before I leave if that would be possible." Xander smiled as the General nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Right, Mr Ion..." Kinsey started only to be interrupted by Xander.

"Just Ion please." Xander smiled as Kinsey flustered again only to recover quickly.

"Ion then, I understand your race have offered earth protection from the Goa'uld and that several other races including the Tollan and the Tok'ra." Kinsey explained as he started to get more comfortable with the politics of the arrangement.

"Yes, the OA'n people believe in helping races evolve on their own, without interference from other cultures or being enslaved by species like the Goa'uld." Xander smiled, hoping that Kinsey didn't ask for any details.

"And you will be personally in charge of protecting earth?" Kinsey asked, a little doubt creeping into his words.

Glancing around the room Xander could see that the rest of the Oversight Committee had the same doubt.

"What I mean to say is," Kinsey continued. "How do you plan to protect earth, the Tollan and the Tok'ra on your own? Do you have a fleet of ships in case the Goa'uld attack in greater numbers?"

"No, no ships, just me." Xander grinned as he watched Kinsey blanche.

"And you will be able to defend earth on your own without assistance from your ships or any technology?" Kinsey replied sceptically.

"Quite easily, as General Hammond will have undoubtedly told you, I have already stopped one Goa'uld invasion and handed the mothership of the Goa'uld Apophis over to you. Is that not proof enough?" Xander asked coldly, wanting to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible.

"Yes, the report did say that and we are very grateful for the mothership you have given us, I think we are just a bit sceptical because the report failed to explain how you managed to defeat such a large number of opposing ships on your own. The satellite pictures we have show at least seven motherships with a contingent of smaller craft along side, all of those, save the mothership in orbit of the moon just disappeared in a flash of light. Would you care to explain how it is you are capable of doing such a thing?" Kinsey asked, his voice wavering from neutral to hostile.

"How about I just show you all what I'm capable of? Would that satisfy you?" Xander asked, wanting to get out of the room before he killed this Senator Kinsey.

"Yes, that would be a great help." Kinsey smiled smugly and the rest of the oversight nodded their acceptance.

"Just you, or would all of you like to see?" Xander asked, turning to the rest of the faces at the table who had yet to speak or introduce themselves.

"Just me will be fine." Kinsey replied for the group, blanching when Xander turned back to him and levelled his gaze fully, locking on to Kinsey's eyes.

"Inform General Hammond that we will be back shortly." Xander said to the rest of the table before disappearing in a flash of green light and taking the senator with him.

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"Wh... Where are we?" Kinsey stuttered out as he looked around him.

There was black as far as the eye could see; only the faint glow of a red star lit the area.

"Over here senator." Xander called from behind him, causing the senator to spin round turn white and the view before them both. "This is Bokon, a dead world on the edge of your galaxy."

"You mean..." Kinsey went even whiter as he looked down to see space beneath him and the planets and moons rotating around the giant red star in front of him.

"Yes senator, we are just on the edge of your galaxy now, around five thousand light-years from your home planet." Xander emphasized the 'your' bits of his speech to make sure the senator connected the dots that he wasn't from this galaxy.

"But... how... how did we get here?" Kinsey asked, panic starting to show in his voice as he loosened his tie in an effort to help him breathe easier.

"Teleportation is just one of the tricks up my sleeves as you say Senator. I brought you here because this star is about to go supernova, so anything I do will have no lasting impact on the planet or solar system around it." Xander explained, he didn't want to go around changing the evolutionary cycle of a planet just to prove a point to this simple minded senator.

"The planet?" Kinsey asked, becoming a bit more like his old self now that he was sure he wasn't in any sort of danger.

"Yes, that planet senator. We only have a short time so please watch carefully." Xander smiled as the senator shut his mouth with an audible 'click' as Xander phased through the bubble that he had created to protect them from space.

"You can still hear me right senator?" Xander asked, he knew that his voice wouldn't carry through space so he used his powers to transmit his voice to inside of the bubble.

"Yes." The Senator replied.

"Very well, not the star will go Supernova in approximately nine minutes so pay attention." Without any further explanation Xander turned to the planet and raised his arm toward the surface, letting out a beam of pure power he watched as the emerald energy shot from his hand penetrated the planet's atmosphere and impacted the surface. After a few minutes he stopped the beam and brought the bubble over to him before phasing through the shell and stood next to the senator.

"That was..." Kinsey was uncharacteristically at a loss for words as Xander moved the bubble down so that the senator could see that he had punched a hole clean through the planet.

"As you can see, I can quite happily back up my claims of what power I have senator, now if you don't mind I'd like to get back to earth now. I would like to see my friends on SG1 before I leave for today." Xander smiled as he watched the senator wince.

"SG1?" Kinsey asked, starting to sweat.

"Yes, Colonel O'Neill has become a very close friend of mine, as have Captain Carter, Doctor Jackson and Teal'c. Also General Hammond has helped he come through some very tough decisions lately, you would not have the protection I offer without those five people senator." Xander grinned, he knew he was laying it on a bit thick, but from the way Kinsey was sweating it was nice to enjoy a bit more discomfort. "Now let's get back to our friends at the SGC shall we?"

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The rest of the oversight committee were talking amongst themselves when the green flash interrupted them and deposited Xander and Senator Kinsey back in their respective seats.

"I assume that was proof enough senator?" Xander asked, eying the senator carefully.

"Yes, yes thank you." Kinsey stuttered out, bringing a smile to some of the oversight committee to see him so flustered.

"As I was saying, the protection of the OA'n race does not require any trade or negotiations; any communication will be made through Stargate Command to me in person. Are there any more questions?" Xander expected Kinsey to voice an objection about something, but was shocked when Kinsey remained silent. "Very well then, if this meeting is concluded I will speak to SG1 and then take me leave, gentlemen." Xander nodded at them each in turn before leaving the room and closing the door, only then when he had started walking down the halls towards General Hammonds office did he allow himself to grin and star laughing.

"I'll assume the meeting went well then?" General Hammond smiled as Xander walked in his office.

"Yup, think I shook up Kinsey a bit though, you'd better go check on him. Where's my dad? Wanna say goodbye before I head back." Xander grinned as the General shook his head in amusement.

"SG1 are down at the mess hall at the moment I believe, I can have someone take you there if you wish." Hammond smiled and pressed a button on his desk, turning to the door when it opened. "Airman, can you show Ion to the mess hall please."

"Yes sir, this way please." The Airman smiled as Xander walked out of the door, closing it politely behind him.

Both men were silent as they walked back past the conference room where he could hear Kinsey talking animatedly to the rest of the group about what he had seen, resisting the urge to pop back in and see what they were saying he followed the airman down to the mess hall.

"Here we are sir." The airman stopped outside the mess hall and pushed open the doors for him.

"Thank you." Xander smiled at the man before walking into the mess hall. He was a bit uncomfortable with everyone staring at him while he was in his uniform, it was something he was just going to have to get used to he reasoned.

"Hey." Jack grinned when he saw his son approach, still in his glowing Ion uniform. "We were just about to clock off for the night, fancy a beer or two at my place?"

"Can we take this somewhere a bit more private?" Xander asked, not wanting any of their conversation to get back to the oversight committee while they were still here.

"My lab is just down the hall." Sam offered, smiling as everyone stood up and started making their way to her office. Filing in Xander locked the door after him, flashing back into his normal jeans and t-shirt.

"Man, that guy gives me the creeps; I should have left him out there." Xander grinned at the thought of leaving Kinsey out in space, he'd never actually do it, but it was a nice thought after spending only the short time he had with the man.

"Out where?" Jack asked, he'd been told that Xander had taken Kinsey somewhere to show him something, but that was the extent of the knowledge he had of the meeting. He hadn't pressed for more because he knew that Xander would tell him everything anyway.

"Senator Kinsey insisted on a 'demonstration' of my abilities," Xander made air quotes around the word demonstration with a grin. "So I took him out to the edge of the galaxy and blew a hole through a planet for him."

"Sweet." Jack said after letting out a slow whistle at his son's show of power.

"The planet was abandoned right?" Daniel asked cautiously.

"Yeah, we left just before the star went nova, destroying any evidence of it anyway." Xander smiled a little hurt that Daniel had even asked.

"Where did you come from anyway? When you came through the gate it locked all nine chevrons on to engage the wormhole. It's never done that before." Sam asked, she'd been dying to ask about that ever since she'd seen the wormhole engage.

"Little planet I found, abandoned though but had some sweet technology on it. This woman's voice helped me get it to work, think it was something like a help command on a computer." Xander grinned at the thought of the planet, he'd have to go back and explore more someday when he got the chance.

"Where exactly was it? I mean seven symbols are for travel between Stargate's in this galaxy, we use eight for intergalactic travel but we never figured out what the ninth chevron was for." Sam finished off, now even more excited about the prospect of what Xander had called 'Sweet Technology'.

"It was at the center of the universe, orbiting a binary star." Xander said offhand. "The Stargate was really weird though, didn't look like yours and had different symbols on it. The computer I used to find earths address had hundreds of symbols on it though, when I found earths address the inner ring slid back into the Stargate and a new one popped out. Also, it glowed green, like yours does orange when it locked. I think it was a new model or something." Xander smiled at the look of amazement on Sam and Daniels face.

"Were there any writings or markings around of any sort?" Daniel asked before anyone else could ask any questions.

"Yup, but they turned into English when I asked." Xander grinned at the disappointed look on Daniels face.

"Looks like you're out of a job if we can get them all to do that." Jack smiled at his friend.

"How far roughly from this planet were you?" Sam asked, trying to figure out the power requirements for opening a Stargate from there to here. They had tried to dial the address that Xander had came from without success, for some reason the Stargate just wouldn't engage to the nine symbol address.

"And the name of the planet, did you see a name anywhere?" Daniel jumped in.

"Whoa, one at a time. Sam, about seventy galaxies down and fifteen or so to the left, not accounting for space in between of course. Daniel, yes, it called earth Terra Atlantis though there wasn't a name for the planet I've named it OA." Xander smiled as Sam went slack jawed again at the distances they were talking about and Daniel started pacing, trying to figure out the link of Atlantis to earth.

"Far away then." Jack grinned.

"Yup, play your cards right and I'll take you all there someday for a holiday." Xander grinned, his face falling as the scream of help shattered his concentration. "Faith." He said out loud. "I've got to go, I'll be back soon dad, we'll organise a holiday or something."

Without waiting for a reply his vanished in a flash of green light, leaving SG1 stood in Sam's lab looking at the space he occupied with amazement.

"Think I'm getting used to it." Jack said with a smile.

"Indeed." Teal'c replied as they headed for the door, leaving Sam and Daniel with their own thoughts.

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"Nooooo!" Faith's scream echoed through the warehouse as Kakistos bared down on her, his cloven fist smashing down on the shield she had created cracking it slightly.

"You know, when the lady says no like that, she normally means it." Xander shouted as he flashed into the room. Turning to a group of vampires he just shook his head and waved his hand in their direction, decapitating them all with a quick flourish.

"And who are you?" Kakistos snarled out.

"Xander." Faith whispered out under her breath.

"You can call me Ion, for as long as you live anyway. The demons around here call me The Green Death though." Xander said, the emerald flames back around his body licking at the floor as he walked towards Kakistos.

"I heard Angelus killed you." Kakistos snarled out.

"You heard wrong." Xander replied with a smile as he watched a few vampires escape out of the back door, it was useful to leave some alive to spread the word that he was still alive and in Sunnydale.

"I have no quarrel with you, I only want her." Kakistos snarled, turning back to face Faith before she was engulfed in a green flash. "What did you do?" Turning back he noticed Faith was now stood behind this 'Green Death'.

"You can't have her, The Slayers are now under my protection, or hadn't you noticed from the green glow and matching outfits." Xander quipped, happy that this ancient vampire seemed unsure of what to do now. "So you stay put while I have a word with Faith here." Waving his hand he enveloped the vampire in a green bubble, blocking any sound from passing in or out.

"Xander thank god." Faith said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him passionately.

"Faith, what's going on? What's up with ugly over there and why were you cowering in a corner? You have a Green Lantern Ring now; you should have been able to take care of him easily." Xander said, carefully keeping his tone reassuring so that Faith would open up to him, in all the time he'd known her he'd never seen her this scared before.

"That's Kakistos, he killed my old watcher. He was going to kill me; he's why I came here." Faith explained in a small voice. "Buffy!" she exclaimed, running over to where Buffy lye on the floor unconscious.

"So this Kakistos took down two slayers with Green Lantern Rings?" Xander said, turning back to the vampire.

"I was afraid Xander; I didn't want what happened to Diana happen to you." Faith practically sobbed out as she held Buffy's unconscious form.

"Diana?" Xander asked, walking over to make sure that Buffy was alright, he'd checked her from a distance and was sure that he still had a heart beat and a strong pulse. With slayer healing she'd be back to normal in an hour or two.

"My old watcher, Kakistos raped then killed her." Faith explained in a soft voice, tears running down her face. "He was going to do the same to me when I escaped. I just ran, I kept running until I reached Sunnydale."

"So, you get off on torturing and raping women do you?" Xander turned back to Kakistos, letting him loose from the bubble but holding him in place with arm restraints he's created.

"Just slayers and watchers, I have no quarry with a sorcerer like yourself." Kakistos snarled out.

"Funny, because now I have a quarry with you. Goodbye." Xander said simply raising his hand as if he was holding a tennis ball.

Faith turned around to see Xander raise his arm towards Kakistos, his fingers open like he was holding a football or something. Suddenly Kakistos started to scream, not the scream of being burnt or stabbed, it was a scream from his very demon that inhabited the body. "What are you doing?" She asked softly, not sure if she wanted to know the difference or not.

"I'm taking him apart, see?" Xander said coldly, nodding to Kakistos' feet where Faith could see his feet and legs starting to disappear in a swirl of red mist.

"You're taking him apart?" Faith asked again, not quite believing what she was seeing.

"Yup, right down at the atomic level, I'm breaking apart electrons and moving atoms away from each other. Hurts like a bitch right?" Xander snarled at Kakistos and was rewarded with another inhuman howl of agony.

Xander simply just closed his fist in a sharp motion, snapping his fingers into the palm of his hand as Kakistos turned completely to the red mist that dissipated into the wind.

"Now, I think we need to up your training a bit, but first let's get you both back to Giles'" Xander said, turning back to where Faith was stood staring and him and Buffy was starting to regain consciousness.

"You take care of Buffy, I can't... I've got to..." Faith didn't finish her sentence before shooting up into the air and breaking through the roof, Xander barely got a shield up around him and Buffy in time before the entire roof caved in on them.

"Well, at least she's got the flying part down." Xander muttered as he teleported himself and Buffy back to Giles' house.

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"Giles! We need help here." Xander shouted as they appeared in the living room, lifting Buffy up carefully he laid her on the couch, taking special care to prop her head on a pillow.

"Good god Xander, what happened here? Where is Faith?" Giles asked in shock as he came out of the study area before rushing over to Buffy's side to check her wounds over.

"Faith took off; they were being pummelled by a vampire called Kakistos or something when I found them." Xander explained quickly. "I got to get out there and find Faith, is Buffy alright?"

"Kakistos, is he dead?" Giles asked as he moved over to get some antiseptic from the first aid kit he kept in the desk draw.

"Yup, dust in the wind." Xander said, "Is she going to be alright?"

"She'll be fine, a mild concussion. I imagine it would have been worse if it wasn't for those rings of yours." Giles said, smiling at Xander, his eyes expressing the thanks his words could not.

"Right, I'll go and find Faith, back soon." Xander said before flashing out of the room.

"I do wish he wouldn't do that, the next door neighbours must think I have a disco or something in here." Giles muttered as Buffy started to regain consciousness.

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"Faith?" Xander called out as he appeared in the cemetery, this was where he'd last sensed her. He didn't want to try teleporting her directly to him, pissing off a slayer when she wanted some alone time didn't seem the best idea.

A scream came from behind him and he span around to see multiple green energy beams slicing out and dusting vampires.

"Constructive use of anger." Xander muttered as he started to walk towards the now settling dust piles.

"What are you doing here Xander?" Faith asked as she watched him walk though the cemetery.

"Thought I'd come and talk to you, find out why you flew off like that." Xander explained, hands in the air as a show of peace.

"Why do we do it? I mean, we go out every night and take down five or six vampires, ten if we're lucky. How many are there in the world? How many lives could we save if we just destroyed them all at once?" Faith practically spat at Xander.

"Faith that isn't..." Xander started to try and pacify her but was cut off.

"No, that isn't your way Xander, it's my way, and now I'm going to do it." Turning round Faith shot off into the night sky, leaving behind a puzzled and worried Xander.

"Yeah, kill all the vampires on earth, how exactly are we supposed to do that?" He muttered before flying off after her.

Catching up to Faith at the edge of the atmosphere he paused as she turned to face earth and let loose a stream of green energy the blanketed the west coast of America in one go. Without even thinking of what he was or what it was doing Xander created a shield in front of the earth, blocking the energy after a few seconds.

"What the hell was that? You can't just come up here and start firing on earth like that." Xander snapped at faith, moving round so that he was in her line of fire.

"Solar energy, like you said 'anything we can imagine' right? I can imagine the sun's rays pouring out of this thing and burning every single vamp and demon to dust, so get out of my way Xander." Faith snapped back her explanation, the whole time she had been floating in space taking her ring was leaking power, sparks flew from it and emerald energy burned up her arm.

"And when people start asking questions about why suddenly the night has turned into a 'green day', how are you going to explain that? Or to my dad who works hard at keeping this planet safe and the existence of aliens a secret, how are you going to explain that to him?" Xander said a bit softer this time.

Floating over to her he embraced her in a tight hug. "I know you want to do it like this, but we have to take it slow ok? I promise we'll get every single vampire and demon eventually, but we have to work within the system for the moment."

"Why?" Faith almost sobbed out.

"People aren't ready to know about demons, vampires, aliens or Green Lanterns for that matter, not yet. They will be one day, and then we'll step into the light, but until then we have to keep it quiet alright? Can you do that?" Xander said, still holding her tight as he looked her in the eye.

"One day? You promise?" Faith asked, looking Xander directly in the eyes.

"I promise, one day we'll fly over New York in bright sunlight and the crowds will cheer our names." Xander smiled as Faith grinned at him. "You ready to go back down now?"

"Can we just stay up here a bit longer? Please?" Faith asked, begging him with her eyes.

"As long as you want beautiful, as long as you want." Xander smiled, nuzzling into her neck and holding her tight.

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AN: Hope everyone's still enjoying this :D

more to come soon

M 


	21. Chapter 21

TITLE: The Power of XION

DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Green Lantern, ION, Batgirl and any other mentions of DC characters belong to DC Comics ok? All I own is the twisted idea.

RATING: FR18

SPOILERS: Anything from the Halloween episode onwards. I plan on taking the story through to the bitter end of Buffy. Anything up to The Power of ION series, issue 150 of Kyle. So the fall of OA, Parallax, Oblivion, all that stuff. Stargate, Episode 318, Shades of Grey.

"Guy's, I think we need to have a talk about something." Xander said as he walked in the library and dumped his bag on the table.

"What's up Xan?" Faith asked, turning to face him with Buffy and Giles.

"It's about last night; I mean how did Kakistos get the better of you? I mean, I gave you both rings and you know how to use them, I guess I'm a little surprised that he managed to get the better of you both." Xander muttered the end; he didn't want to upset the girls but was a little angry that he'd had to step in again.

"I understand what Xander is trying to say," Giles came to Xander's defence thankfully, "those rings should have been more than a match for anything Kakistos attacked you with. Was he using sorcerers as well as vampires?"

"No, it was just him and his lackeys; I guess they just got the better of us." Faith said, her voice a little too carefree for Xander's taste.

"Which is what I'm saying, guy's, those rings should be easily more than a match for any group of vampires you come across, even master vamps like Kakistos." Xander explained as he dropped into a chair next to Faith and held her hand.

"I don't know Xander, I guess we're just not used to using them yet, I mean it took all my energy just to keep my shield up when he was attacking me, I couldn't even concentrate on finding a stake or something to attack them with." Buffy explained.

"Which is what I'm saying, why were you hunting around for a stake when you could just 'will' another weapon to hand and carry on the fight?" Xander said, turning to Faith first and then Buffy when Faith looked away.

"I didn't think of it like that." Buffy said in a small voice, looking to the floor as she blushed.

"Look, the rings aren't limited to one construct at a time; you can have as many weapons as you need as well as your shield. You just need to keep concentrating on them." Xander explained, "Do you want to meet up tonight to go through some more training or something?"

"I think that would be best for you both, I don't want to send you out on patrols if you are not a hundred percent sure of your weapons." Giles said, sending a soft smile to each of the girls as they nodded at him.

"Right, we'll meet up tonight at the junkyard on the north of town. Is that alright for you Buffy?" Xander asked, smiling when she nodded. "We'll work on your weapons as well as your shielding."

"What's wrong with the shields? I mean, they protected Buffy well enough last night Xan." Faith said, trying to think of anything to defend how they did last night.

"Even through the shield Kakistos managed to knock Buffy unconscious, that shouldn't have been possible. These shields are powerful enough to protect you as you fly through a star, a punch, even a punch from a master vampire shouldn't have done anything to you." Xander explained, he knew he was pushing hard but the girls needed to learn everything they could about the rings, he couldn't always be there for them and he didn't want another incident like where he found Buffy drowning in The Master's cave.

"Right, tonight at the junkyard then." Buffy repeated, her jaw set in a sort of 'resolve face' of her own. "I've got to have dinner with my mom first, but after that I'll be right over."

"Fly over, might as well get as much practice in as you can." Xander said with a grin as Buffy grinned back.

"Right, flying." Buffy grinned, the feeling of flying was amazing, a bit disconcerting at first but she'd been practicing all last night. In her room, hovering above the bed and practicing moving up and down and around the room. All in all she thought she was getting pretty good at it.

"Right, I've got to go, the Art teacher wants to see me before lesson starts, something about a college course next year that she thinks I should take." Xander grinned, last year college hadn't even entered his thoughts, he would have been lucky to have even passed his GED, and now teachers were coming to him about college courses that he should take and advising him on how to apply for college loans and things.

"Way to go Xan, getting a full education and everything." Faith grinned while Giles smiled in a face that was full of pride.

"Yeah, I really enjoy it. It's something that I'm good at and Miss Catain thinks I've got a real shot at getting on the course." Xander smiled at Faith, kissing her softly before jogging out of the door.

"And what about you two, have you given any thoughts about college? This being your final year at school." Giles said, turning to Buffy and Faith.

"I don't know Giles, I'm having a hard enough time with school, I don't know if I'm ready for college." Faith grinned.

"Or of college is ready for you." Buffy countered with a grin.

"Yes, well, and you Buffy? Have you given any thoughts as to your choices?" Giles pushed through, he wanted both the girls to go to college and do the best they could, these two slayers were the first slayers in history that actually stood a chance of having some semblance of a normal life, something that would never have happened if it wasn't for Xander.

"I don't know, Mom's been having some problems lately with the gallery, it isn't making as much money as it used to. I mean, money's not tight or anything," Buffy quickly covered up. "But I don't know about college or anything."

Before either Giles or Faith could say anything more Buffy walked out of the library, the doors closing quietly as she left.

"She ok?" Faith asked, turning to look up as Giles who was looking at the closed doors with a thoughtful look.

"I don't know Faith, I don't know."

--/\--

"You wanted to see me?" Xander asked as he walked into the Art classroom.

"Yes, please take a seat Xander." Miss Catain replied, her Irish brogue still strong even after several years in America. "I wanted to talk to you about your course options for next year, I know you said you didn't really have the money for a full college course, but I came across this which might interest you." As she finished speaking she handed Xander a white leaflet.

"What's this? An internship?" Xander asked, flicking through the first few pages of the leaflet.

"Yes, your first year will be done at Sunnydale college on the popular arts course, after that the rest of the course is held in New York at the company headquarters where they train in advertising and other art styles." Miss Catain has a funny smirk when she finished off the sentence than caused Xander to raise his eyebrow in question.

"What company and what 'other art styles'?" Xander asked, it sounded a bit too good to be true.

"The reason I'm recommending you for this course is after seeing your sketchpad; I thought these are the sort of people you would enjoy working with." Miss Catain smirked again as she paused, leafing through Xander's sketchbook.

"I'd been looking for that, thought I'd left it somewhere." Xander muttered, he thought he'd left the sketchbook in the library or that Buffy had got hold of it and seen all the sketches of her dusting Angel.

"You left it here after Tuesday's lesson, when I was flicking through it I came across your character designs for your comic, after seeing those I thought you would be perfect for this course." Miss Catain smiled, admittedly some of the subject matter was a bit off, but super heroines fighting vampires and zombies in skimpy outfits would always go down well in the comic industry.

"So who runs the course?" Xander asked, wondering if she was avoiding the question for a reason.

"Dark Horse comics." Miss Catain said with another smirk. "It's actually run by a subsidiary of theirs who work on the advertising side of it and then with the artists primarily working on 'pilot issues' of new comics. Does that sound like something you'd be interested in working on?"

"No way..." Xander was gobsmacked. "So after a year at college, which they pay for, I'd be moving to New York to work in the comic and advertising business?" Xander was floored, it was exactly the sort of thing he would be interested in, and the fact that Miss Catain thought he was good enough to do it... well, it was just amazing.

"I take it your interested then?" Miss Catain said with a grin. "If you'd like I can fax over some of your character designs to a friend of mine that works in the internship building, she could give you a better idea of what sort of things they're looking for and whether or not it's the sort of thing you'd be good at."

"Yeah, I'm interested." Xander grinned, eyeing the sketchbook in her hand and trying to remember exactly what sketches were in that particular pad, his brain was racing at the moment though and every thought that went through was derailed by the thought of him actually working in New York and getting paid for something he loved doing.

"I thought you'd be interested, I'll fax over your sketches today and hopefully you should hear something in the next day or so." Miss Catain smiled as Xander grinned at her.

"Thank you; I don't know what to say... I mean..." Xander spluttered out, this was the first time anyone had every done anything like this for him, it was amazing to think that she actually thought he was good enough to do something like this for a living.

"Xander, I don't think you know how far you've come in the past few years, I look at your work from two years ago and compare it to the work you're doing now and I can't believe it's the same student. Your sketches are amazing and you show a real talent for working on the human form, especially the female form." Miss Catain smiled and winked at Xander to show she was kidding, well partly at least. "I know the other teachers have accused you of cheating in some areas, but Art isn't a subject you can cheat at, so I know that all of the work here is your own honest hard work, and that is the sort of drive that will see you through into working in this area."

"Wow, thanks." Xander blushed, still not used to receiving this sort of praise.

"Now, I understand that you are staying with Doctor Giles at the moment because of some problems at home?" Miss Catain half asked, half stated.

"Huh? Doctor Giles?" Xander asked, he didn't know G-man had a doctorate.

"Yes, the librarian, I only ask because there is a comics convention in New York in a fortnights time, and I believe that it would be a good time for you to go and show your work to some of the artists there, to see what they think and get an idea of the sort of work you'll be asked to do on the internship." Miss Catain explained with a smile.

"Uh, yeah, I'm staying with G-man, I mean Doctor Giles. I had some problems at home and my dad kicked me out, Doctor Giles was kind enough to let me stay with him until I can sort something more permanent out." Xander explained, the words 'Doctor Giles' still sounded weird on his lips.

"Well I must say that Doctor Giles must have been a positive influence on you, I recommend you go to the convention if you can make it, I could speak to Doctor Giles on your behalf if you want, explain to him about it." Miss Catain smiled at him as she leafed through his sketchbook again.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Xander said, still amazed that this sort of thing could actually be in his future, and that people thought he was good enough to do it.

"I'm glad that's settled then, if you'll excuse me I have to start planning for this morning's lesson; we'll be working on shading and background work today." Miss Catain smiled and moved off to start arranging the classroom into a more circular fashion so she could teach easier.

"Yeah, right... thanks a lot Miss Catain." Xander smiled and backed out the door. "Me? Working as a comic artist?" Xander muttered under his breath as he walked through the corridor, a huge grin plastered on his face.

--/\--

"So, how was school today?" Joyce asked as Buffy got into the car after placing the bag of groceries in the boot.

"Fine." Buffy answered shortly before turning to look out of her side window, effectively ignoring her mother for the moment.

"Just fine? Is there something wrong Buffy, are you in trouble again?" Joyce asked, concern evident in her voice.

"No, it's just Giles was asking us about college today, and I don't know what I want to do about it." Buffy admitted, she had been giving her mother short answers about school and life in general the whole time they had been shopping together after Joyce had picked her up from school, a few hours later and it had just worn thin on Buffy now, who was as sick of giving one word answers as Joyce was of hearing them.

"Do you want to go to college?" Joyce asked as they stopped at a red light, turning to face her daughter she could only see the back of her head as she was avoiding the situation again.

"I guess, I just don't know, I mean with money and everything..." Buffy started.

"I know money is tight at the moment dear, but if you want to go to college we will find a way for you to do it, we could always ask your father I suppose, or I could give up the gallery..." Joyce dropped off; it had been so long since she had actually had to be job hunting herself she wouldn't know where to start.

"No mom, I just don't know, I mean its college, and I always just assumed I'd go, but no I don't know... I just don't know anything." Buffy muttered the last under her breath; everything had changed in the last year. So much had happened and so much had changed that she didn't even know where she stood anymore, she was The Slayer, that much was certain, but with the new Ring she had been given, it changed everything.

"Buffy, college is a big step, and if it's something that you want to do then you should do it. We'll find a way somehow of getting the money together." Joyce smiled at her daughter, noticing as she was playing with something in her lap.

"I know, I just don't want to make things hard I guess, I mean everything's tight at the moment, how is me going to college going to help anything?" Buffy asked as she ran her fingers around the insignia on the top of the ring, such a tiny piece of jewellery and it had changed so much already.

"Buffy, if you want to go to college then you should, we'll find a way to make it work." Joyce smiled at her daughter, watching her as she played with what looked like a piece of costume jewellery before slipping it back on her finger.

"Thanks mom." Buffy smiled as the SUV pulled up into the drive of their house, dusk had just fallen so she had about an hour before she had to meet Xander and Faith at the junkyard, plenty of time for dinner. As the SUV stopped Buffy unbuckled, ready to grab the bags and help her mom into the house with the groceries, sometimes Slayer strength was extremely useful.

"Slayer!" A growl came from behind her as she got out of the car, instincts taking over she span round quickly to come face to face with three vamps.

"Uh, is there any chance we can't do this now?" Buffy quipped quickly before spinning in a roundhouse kick sending all three vamps sprawling to the floor.

"Buffy!" Joyce shrieked from the other side of the car, as Buffy span round she saw two vamps moving to grab her mom as the three on her side started to get up.

"This isn't going well." Buffy muttered to herself, creating a quick sword construct in her hand and dispatching the three vampires on her side she quickly ran round to where the two vamps were holding her mom. "Let her go." Buffy shouted, holding the sword construct as tightly as she could and trying to think up ways of how she would explain this to her mother.

"Buffy!" Joyce shrieked again, eyeing the sword her daughter was holding that was glowing bright green and trying to reason what was wrong with the mugger's faces and what they had called her daughter.

"This is your last chance, let her go now." Buffy said, her voice low and dangerous as she created another sword in her other hand.

"Buffy how are you..." Joyce's question was cut off as the vampire holding her lent down and bit into her neck.

"Mom!" Buffy shrieked, dissolving the swords instantly and lashing out with two beams of pure power, dusting both vampires instantly and leaving her mom unharmed in the center of the falling dust. "Mom, are you ok, you're bleeding!" Buffy said, quickly moving over to her mom and creating a wad of tissues in her hand and pressing them against the bite.

"Buffy, how did you... what did you... Buffy, what is going on?" Joyce stuttered out before finally settling on one question that should answer all of them.

"Mom, are you alright?" Buffy asked again while she tried to figure out how she was going to explain this to her mom.

"Buffy," Joyce started again using her 'mom tone'. "What is going on?"

"Let's get inside, I'll explain everything then." Buffy said, chewing on her bottom lip as she tried to think up ways to explain this away. "Xander, get your ass over here now." She said softly into the ring as she walked over to where the groceries had fallen and started to put them back in the bag.

"Ahh!" Buffy quickly span around again at the sound of her mom shrieking again, thinking some more vampires had decided to attack while she was distracted.

As she turned she saw the end tail of the flash of green light that signalled Xander's arrival, and sure enough he was stood there in full costume with Faith by his side, clad in her version of the Green Lantern uniform.

"Subtle Xan." Faith said with a grin as she dissolved the crossbow construct in her hand.

"Ah." Xander said simply as he watched Mrs Summers feint to the ground, quickly creating a bed of soft pillows for her to collapse onto he turned to Buffy. "So, guess it's time for explanations then? How much did she see?"

"Well, it was just me and five vampires, not to mention my sword thing and some energy blasts, but then you and Faith appeared in plain view, so I'm guessing everything." Buffy said with a smile, she'd thought of telling her mom several times, but didn't know how to explain it all; this was as good time as any.

"Right, everything then." Xander muttered. "Let's get her inside and figure out exactly how we're going to do this." Levitating the pillows up with Miss Summers he started moving to the door where Buffy had unlocked it and was carrying the groceries inside.

--/\--

"Doctor Jackson, Colonel..." General Hammond started as the group entered the gate room before being cut off.

"General." O'Neill interrupted with a smile and a nod. "So, who's coming?"

"The transmission was from the Tok'Ra." General Hammond explained, nodding to Sam and Teal'c as they entered the room.

"Great, just what we need." O'Neill complained, slumping his shoulders as he looked at the spinning gate, a visit from the Tok'Ra wasn't on his list of fun things to do today. "Did they at least say why they were coming?"

"Only that they had uncovered some technology and needed our assistance with it." General Hammond explained as the gate exploded in its usual whoosh of energy.

"They want our help, huh." O'Neill finished off suspiciously, every dealing they had had with the Tok'Ra had gone pear shaped so far, there was no reason to doubt this one would be any different.

"Receiving Tok'Ra IDC General. Opening Iris." Silers voice came over the PA as the iris slid open to reveal the active wormhole underneath.

"Shoulda kept it closed." O'Neill muttered with a wry grin as a single Tok'Ra stepped through the event horizon.

"The Tok'Ra high council sends it's greetings to the Tau'ree of Earth." The Woman said as she reached the bottom of the ramp and stood face to face with General Hammond.

"Welcome, I'm General Hammond," He paused for a second, motioning to each of the members of SG1 in turn. "This is Colonel O'Neill, Doctor Jackson, Major Carter and Teal'c."

"You may call me Anise, it means noble strength." The Tok'Ra explained, as she looked around the group.

"So, what's in the box?" O'Neill asked with a grin.

Opening the box in her arms, Anise revealed three pieces of technology that looked roughly like bracers, designed to fit on human arms. "These arm bands were recently discovered in some ancient ruins on a planet at the edge of this galaxy, they belonged to a race known as the Ataniks, they are rumoured to give the wearer incredible speed and strength."

"Wow, they would certainly prove useful against the Goa'uld then, have you tried to activate them?" Daniel asked, running his finger across the top of one of the arm bands where ancient script flowed across the design.

"Unfortunately we have discovered that the armbands are not compatible with Tok'Ra physiology, we presume that is it something to do with the naquadah released by the symbiote into the blood stream that makes the devices inoperable." Anise explained, her alien voice echoing through the gateroom.

"It is probably that they will not work for me either then." Teal'c explained, nodding at the armbands.

"We assumed as much, that is why we only brought three of the devices." Anise explained, closing the lid on the box and holding it tightly. "But this was not the only reason I came, I was requested by the high council to request a meeting with Ion and to facilitate the negotiations of having the Tok'Ra put under the Guardians protection, would it be possible to meet with Ion so that I might request this?"

"I will speak to Ion personally and make your request known." General Hammond nodded before leaving the gateroom.

"I would like to begin testing the devices while General Hammond makes his request, Colonel O'Neill; I believe you would be the best subject for the first trial." Anise said, turning to O'Neill and opening the box to retrieve one of the armbands along with a triangular shaped metallic device. "This is a medical sensor, it will monitor any physiological changes you go through and transmit the readings to this sensor pad."

"Right, whatever, shouldn't we have the doc take a look at these things first?" O'Neill asked with an irritated smile as Anise moved over and planted the sensor device on his chest.

"Every precaution will be made." Anise snapped before placing the armband on O'Neill's arm before he had chance to object.

"Hey!" Pulling at the armband O'Neill turned to Anise and sent her a dirty look before returning his attention to the armband. "It won't come off."

"I believe the device is acclimatising to your physiology, it will be able to be removed once it has adapted to your body." Anise explained as she read the sensor readings off the pad. "Feel free to move around as you normally would, the biosensor is capable of retrieving the data over a significant distance."

"Colonel O'Neill to General Hammond's office." O'Neill turned as he heard his name being announced over the PA system.

"Right, whatever." He made on last effort to pull the armband free before slapping it lightly. "Got to say, not feeling like leaping any tall buildings." He announced with a grin before walking out of the gateroom and making his way to General Hammond's office.

--/\--

"So, how we going to explain this one Buff?" Xander asked as he walked around the kitchen, trying to figure out how they were going to explain everything Joyce had seen.

"Why don't we just tell her the truth?" Faith asked from where she was sat outside the back door smoking.

"Could she handle it?" Xander asked, turning to Buffy before they were interrupted by the sound of motion from the living room.

"Hope so." Buffy whimpered softly before walking into the living room, followed by Xander and Faith.

"Buffy! Oh my god, what happened, what were those things out there? Xander, what are you doing still wearing that Halloween costume? And who are you?" Joyce babbled out as she strode over to embrace her daughter in a tight hug before turning to look at Xander and Faith for an explanation.

"I think you'd better sit down Mrs Summers, this is a long story." Xander started as he sat down himself.

"Hi, I'm Faith." Faith said by way of introduction before moving over to sit down next to Xander as Joyce and Buffy sat down on the other couch.

"Buffy, what is going on here?" Joyce asked again, frustration evident in her voice.

"Uh..." Buffy paused, looking around the room for help with where to start.

"Giles might actually be better at this than us." Xander said with a smile.

"No, we can do this. Mom, you know how you're always asking me about the blood on my clothes, or asking why I'm always sneaking out late?" Buffy asked sheepishly.

"Oh god Buffy, you're not in another gang are you?" Joyce asked with an almost panicked tone as she thought back to how Buffy had been kicked out of Hemery for fighting.

"No, no gangs." Buffy quickly explained.

"Then what? You can tell me anything Buffy." Joyce said with a smile, putting her arm round her daughter to reassure her.

"Those things outside, the people that grabbed you." Buffy paused, mentally preparing herself for the fallout of what she was about to say. "They were vampires."

"What?" Joyce's shriek could be heard three streets over as the teens in the room covered their ears.

--/\--

"Sir." O'Neill nodded as he entered General Hammond's office and sat down.

"I wanted to talk to you first before making the Tok'ra's request to Ion, what do you think his response will be?" General Hammond paused, looking at the armband on O'Neill's arm with mistrust.

"I don't know, he didn't seem exactly enthusiastic about them when Daniel explained what they were, I'd say ask him and see what happens." O'Neill replied honestly.

"I see Anise has her experiment in full swing now, are there any noticeable effects yet?" Hammond asked, eying the armband with caution.

"Nothing yet, Anise thinks it needs some time to adjust to us or something, I was about to go and spar with Teal'c, see if there's anything after that." O'Neill explained, a bit wary of the armband himself.

"You go do that, but be careful, I'll contact Ion and see about arranging a meeting." General Hammond smiled as O'Neill stood up from the chair. "Dismissed."

"Sir." O'Neill smiled as he saw Hammond reach for the glowing green phone on his desk, would be nice to see his son again, especially seeing him when they weren't under attack or anything. Maybe they could finally go out and have a meal together and spend some time as a family.

--/\--

"It's not a joke Mrs Summers, Vampires are real, Buffy and Faith are Slayers." Xander said, stepping in-between Joyce and Buffy who had stood as they started arguing.

"What did you think they were mom? Or how did they turn to dust?" Buffy yelled, trying to get her point across.

"There are no such things as vampires Buffy." Joyce shouted back, adamant on her view.

"Want me to go and get one so you can watch us dust it in front of you?" Faith quipped with a grin before falling silent at the looks she received from the group.

"It's the truth Mrs Summers, I've fought them myself." Xander said, trying to calm everyone down.

"So, what, are you a 'slayer' as well?" Joyce spat at him, the obvious sarcasm around the word 'Slayer' was felt by everyone in the room.

"No, I'm a bit different." Xander said before levitating himself a few feet of the floor with a fort green glow.

"I think I need to sit down." Joyce said before practically collapsing on the spot, luckily Xander had expected this and had created a soft green chair construct for her to fall into.

Faith just watched this and sat down again with a smile, at least Buffy's mom had people to explain it to her. She couldn't even remember what her mother looked like, the council had taken her at such a young age, and then she had run away from them onto the streets, she'd never had a proper mother like Buffy had. For a moment she felt a wave of jealousy before she reminded herself of how Xander and Giles treated her now, like a family.

"Yeah, this is where it gets a little complicated." Xander said with a grin as he watched Joyce examine the glowing green chair she was now sat on.

"This... this is all real?" Joyce finally said, her voice soft and wavering with doubt.

"I'm sorry." Buffy said, moving over to embrace her mother.

"And you're a vampire slayer?" Joyce asked, looking down at her daughter as she just nodded mutely. "And you are?" Joyce looked over at Xander with a raised eyebrow.

"This is where things get complicated, you remember last Halloween?" Xander asked, waiting for her to reply. "Well I dressed up as this character..." He paused for a second.

"What's up Xan?" Faith asked, puzzled as to why he had stopped in his explanation.

"It's General Hammond, he needs me for something." Xander explained, standing up and smiling at Joyce. "You'll love this." He grinned, imagining her face when she would see him teleporting away.

"Oh no you don't!" Buffy exclaimed, standing up and facing Xander directly. "You're staying here to help explain this to my mom."

"Buffy..." Xander started, only to be interrupted by her again.

"Faith, can you handle whatever General Hammond needs?" Buffy asked, turning to glare at Faith if she said no.

"Sure, as long as someone tells me how to get there." Faith grinned.

"Right, you send faith to the SGC, we'll stay here and explain things to my mom." Buffy said, her tons leaving no room for argument.

"Ok, just use the ring if you need me alright?" Xander said as he watched Faith's costume whip around her in emerald energy.

"Sure thing hun, you just get me there, I'll do the rest." Faith grinned and kissed Xander softly on the lips.

"What..." Joyce started to ask as she stood up, not quite believing what she was seeing.

"I'll explain in a bit." Xander said with a smile as he waved his hand and teleported Faith to the SGC. "As I was saying, Halloween..."

--/\--

"Ok... not Ion." O'Neill muttered with a grin as the green flash subsided leaving Faith stood in General Hammond's office next to him.

"Yeah, Xan's busy so he sent me instead, what's up?" Faith smiled as she looked around the office. "Not more aliens is it?"

"No, well yes actually." O'Neill said with a grin as he sat down in one of the chairs and motioned to Faith to do the same.

"Hey, if it's another invasion I'll get Xan and Buffy geared up, we can take care of it before you know it." Faith said as she stood up, cracking her knuckles.

"Actually miss, it's a bit more complicated than that. One of our allies, the Tok'Ra, have asked for a meeting with Ion to discuss putting themselves under his protection like he has done for Earth." General Hammond explained.

"Right, huh?" Faith said, trying to wrap her mind around what Xander had been doing here so she wouldn't mess up and spoil it.

"It's complicated, which is why we wanted Ion here to explain to them why he couldn't do it." O'Neill explained.

"Jack, why don't you go and see how Teal'c and Daniel are doing with Anise while I fill in..." General Hammond paused, waiting for the young lady stood in front of him to fill in her name.

"Faith." Faith said with a grin.

"Faith then, with the current situation." General Hammond finished off with a smile as he noticed the ring that was currently decorating her finger.

"Right, I'll go play with the alien then. Catch up with you later and you can tell me how Xander's doing." O'Neill smiled before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

"So, Xander charged the ring then?" General Hammond asked, nodding towards the ring in question.

"Yeah, gave B one as well, said it would help out." Faith explained. "So, these alien's, they want us to protect them as well?"

"Yes, it seems since Xander stated to the Tollan he had put Earth under his protection, the Goa'uld found out about it through their spies, and the Tok'Ra found out about it through their spies in the Goa'uld. Now they are requesting the same protection."

"Is there any way we can stall them until Xander's finished up, he'd be better at this than me." Faith said, uncharacteristically nervous about the situation.

"One of the Tok'Ra high council is here conducting tests on some alien technology they found, she requested to speak to him today." Hammond explained as he tried to think of a way to stall Anise without her growing suspicious.

"Right, so I speak with her, explain that Xander's busy at the moment and arrange a meeting for a later date?" Faith said, it seemed reasonable to her.

"We could try that, but the Tok'Ra aren't the most reasonable of people, they see their 'mission' to defeat the Goa'uld as being of higher priority than anything else. They can come across as a bit arrogant because of it and have crossed with Colonel O'Neill over it several times." Hammond finished off explaining, not wanting to be in the room if Anise tried forcing Faith into an alliance.

"So, let me get this straight. These aliens, have a 'mission' to kill the other aliens, and are asking us for their protection, even though they generally think their 'mission' is more important than us?" Faith grinned; this might be more fun than she thought.

"That sounds about right." Hammond nodded.

"And I'm one of 'Ion's' Lieutenants who he sent to negotiate with her because he had better things to do." Faith finished off with an evil grin, having some fun at the expense of aliens who thought they were better than humans could always be fun.

General Hammond just laughed out loud, startling Faith for a moment. "I can't see that going over well with Anise, but it will certainly make Colonel O'Neill happy."

"Right, is Faith alright for a name, or should I pick out something more exotic?" Faith grinned, messing with people was definitely her idea of fun, and it definitely beets hanging around for Buffy and Xander's explanation of what goes bump in the night to Buffy's mom.

"I'm sure Faith will be fine, do you want to meet her now or do you need more time to prepare?" General Hammond asked as he stood and made his way to the door.

"Nah, now's fine, as long as I'm alright to put her in her place if she gets bitchy about it." Faith smiled as she followed the General through the door and down the stairs.

"Well as you are both alien dignitaries representing different cultures, procedure states that we cannot interfere in your negotiations." General Hammond finished off as they started walking along the narrow corridor towards the medical bay.

"This should be interesting." Faith muttered as they entered the medical bay, spinning round she could see tons of equipment, most of it she had no clue of what they did. On one bed was Teal'c with a doctor hovering round him taking his temperature.

"Is Teal'c fit for duty?" General Hammond asked as they approached the bed.

"I'd say so, he was only unconscious for a short while and the blow from Colonel O'Neill didn't do any serious damage, the bruising and swelling will be taken care of by his symbiote so I can't see any reason why he can't be discharged." The doctor explained turning to Faith and holding out her hand. "I'm Doctor Frasier."

"Faith." Faith said with a smile as she shook the woman's hand. "What happened to Teal'c?"

"It seems Colonel O'Neill got a bit too feisty during a sparring match, he managed to knock Teal'c unconscious." Doctor Frasier explained with a dirty look towards O'Neill.

"Whoa, how'd you manage that?" Faith asked, turning to Colonel O'Neill.

"These armbands, Anise said they would enhance our strength and speed, guess they work as advertised." O'Neill grinned before taking a large bite out of the candy bar he was holding.

"Right, alien tech." Faith said, dismissing the rest of the explanation before it even started.

"See, she gets the idea." O'Neill grinned.

Faith just grinned back for a second before turning her attention to the blonde woman stood in the corner of the room who was looking at her disapprovingly. "And you are?"

"I am Anise of the Tok'ra, are you the one the Tau'ree call Ion?" Anise asked, her voice cold and dripping with a 'holier than thou' tone.

"Nope, I'm Faith, Ion's second in command." Got to get used to calling him Ion not Xander, Faith reminded herself. "Ion's busy with something else at the moment, he asked me to come and see what all the fuss was about."

"I had asked to speak to Ion." Anise said in a petulant tone. "Not his second." Her voice was practically filling the room with disdain as she looked Faith over appraising her.

"Well it's me or nothing." Faith said coldly, crossing her arms and levelling a glare at Anise that could melt steel.

"Then you will have to do." Anise finally folded, averting her eyes from Faith's glare.

"Glad we got that settled; now do you want to do this here, or shall we find somewhere more private?" Faith asked, not letting her glare subside one bit.

"We will use one of the conference rooms General Hammond has put aside for us. Follow me." Anise finished off before walking out of the room.

"Oh what fun." Faith muttered, following Anise out the door, causing O'Neill to snigger in response.

--/\--

Woo hoo, another chapter done :D

Big thanks to whoever nominated this fic for a COA, and whoever nominated me personally for a COA... I have no words :D

M


	22. Chapter 22

"So you're..." Joyce stumbled over the words, not daring to even voice her concerns as her hand shot up to the crucifix dangling from her neck, cradling in gently in her hands as Xander finished explaining what had happened to him, and what he was.

Xander paused, shaking his head slightly. "I'm not sure what I am, but I don't think I'm a God Joyce." He laughed nervously; he hated this part of the explanation.

"It... its all real, isn't it?" Joyce asked again, finding her feet in the conversation.

"Yup," Xander nodded slowly, watching her to see her reaction while Buffy sat next to her, nervously fiddling with her hair and waiting for her mom's attention to turn to her.

"The other girl, Faith?" Joyce asked, checking the name then smiling when Xander nodded. "Where did she go?"

"That's a bit complicated," Xander grinned. "I think we should wait to see how you're coping with slayers and Green Lanterns before we go any further down the rabbit hole." Xander smiled as Joyce nodded slightly, almost afraid to ask what could be worse.

"Faith's a slayer," Buffy explained in a small voice. "Like me."

"I don't..." Joyce stood up, a bit shaky on her feet for a second before she turned to look at Xander who was watching her carefully. "Who did this to my little girl?" She demanded to know, staring at Xander.

"I don't know," Xander said honestly. "Slayers are called; we don't know who calls them."

"Could you," Joyce paused, thinking about what she was about to ask. "Could you change her back?" She asked, her voice almost a whisper.

Buffy jumped to her feet, about to protest and yell at her mother for even asking such a thing but was stopped when Xander held his hand out to her cautiously, stopping whatever she had been about to say.

"Why would I?" Xander asked, staring back into Joyce's eyes. "You want me to take away what Buffy is, she is a slayer now, she knows about the world, the real world, just like I do. If I took away the slayer powers, do you honestly think she would be able to just stay in side? To just sit back and do nothing while vampires and demons killed people? I couldn't, I know Buffy couldn't, could you?" His eyes demanded an answer as he stared at Joyce, Buffy now turning to see what her mother would say.

"I just want her to be safe," Joyce explained, a lone tear dripping down her eye for a second before Buffy rushed in and hugged her tightly.

"I am," Buffy said, choking on her voice as she nearly broke into tears as well, "The ring Xander gave me, it's already saved my life, yours as well." The realization that if she hadn't had the ring, her mom would have died bringing her back to reality.

"You can keep her safe?" Joyce asked, looking over her daughters head at Xander, who nodded slowly.

"I can," Xander paused for a second, his eyes staring into Joyce's and his power meeting with the fierce protection of a mother for her daughter. "I will." He stated firmly.

"Then tell me everything," Joyce said firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument or second guessing as she sat down on the couch and crossed her arms, staring at Xander intently.

"Here goes," Xander muttered as he started to explain everything that had happened in the last year.

--=/^\=--

"Hey," Jack grinned over to Daniel as he walked into the lab and saw him leaning over the desk with a magnifying glass, obviously trying to read an ancient manuscript or some old dusty tome. "Anything yet?"

"I still don't feel any different," Daniel paused from reading the book to run his fingers around the armband for a moment. "How is Faith doing?"

"Last I heard they were still alive, so that's gotta count for something," Jack grinned, thinking of all the things Faith could do to Anise if she pissed her off.

"Did she say why Xander couldn't make it himself?" Daniel asked, he'd actually become used to having Xander around, he'd made a sort of peace knowing that the most powerful being on the planet was a high school student, and Jack's son no less.

"Nah, just said that he was busy, dunno what that means though, probably facing something scarier than aliens though if I know him." Jack smiled, thinking about all the things that Xander could be doing or fighting right now, especially dealing with demons, vampires and the forces of darkness, it was a strange comfort to know that he had that much power and was still using it for the right reasons, god forbid if he ever got snaked or something like that, he'd had more than one nightmare about that and it never ended well. Unwrapping another candy bar he started munching away, deep in thought about what his son could be doing right now that was more important than whatever they were doing here.

"Developing a bit of a sweet tooth Jack?" Daniel asked with a smirk, nodding to the candy bar Jack was quickly demolishing.

"Yeah," Jack grinned back, picking up one of the old books off the shelf and flicking through it, moving faster and faster until the pages became a blur to anyone watching as he read page after page at amazing speed. "You know; just trying to keep my mind busy, don't want to be thinking about what Xander's doing right now."

"Yeah," Daniel muttered, a bit bemused by what Jack had just done. "I'm sure he can handle it, did you just read that?" He added, nodding to the book that Jack was putting back on the shelf, the fact he was putting it away and it the correct place being an amazement on itself.

"I guess." Jack grinned back, looking at the various titles on the shelves. "I don't suppose there's another book around that explains this book."

"What reason did Hobbs give for the fall of the civilization?" Daniel asked, watching Jack carefully in case this was some sort of practical joke he was playing to keep his mind off Xander.

"Failing agricultural infrastructure," Jack replied seriously, still looking over the shelves for any books that actually interested him.

Daniel nearly dropped his own book in amazement that Jack had actually read the book and understood it. "Jack, that's unbelievable!"

"Yeah, well," Jack grinned, shrugging his shoulders, quite happy to slip back to his old ways and blend back into the crowd; it was what he was good at and happy there, not to be noticed. "Guess it's just another one of those armband thingies, yours not working yet then?" He grinned as he watched Daniel try and flick through a book, his eyes blurring over the pages before his limited dexterity caught up with him and he fumbled the pages, dropping the book to the floor.

"Want me to read it to you?" Jack grinned, reaching down and picking the book up.

"Funny," Daniel quipped back, snatching the book away from Jack and putting it back on the table. "Do you think Faith will say yes to Anise, I mean, give the Tok'Ra Xander's protection?"

"Dunno," Jack shrugged, not even contemplating what must be going through Xander's head right now. "Maybe, it's up to them."

"Could he?" Daniel asked in all seriousness. "I mean, we've all seen what he's capable of doing, but that would mean spending more time in space, or with the Tok'Ra, what about school, and Faith and Buffy?"

"I'm sure he could," Jack paused before continuing, letting Daniel know he was in one of his rare serious moods. "The question I'm asking is, should he?"

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked, trying to see the argument from both sides as he always did. "If Xander has the power to help and he doesn't, doesn't that make him just the same as the Tollan?" Daniel added the last, remembering how fervently Jack believed that people with advanced technology should share it to help other races survive.

"He's a kid for crying out loud Daniel, he's seventeen, he should be in school, gearing up for college, enjoying time with his friends, not worrying about war's and aliens and other races asking for his protection. I wouldn't let him kill Apophis, I won't have him have murder on his conscience, and he shouldn't be involved in this!" Jack shouted the last, slamming his fist down on the table where in left a sizable dent in the metal military issue furniture.

"I think he wants to be involved." Daniel said in a small voice, awe creeping into his tone as he looked at the large dent in the table while Jack examined his fist for any bruising or cuts.

"That's what makes it worse." Jack said in a small voice before walking out of the room in silence, leaving Daniel to run his fingers over the arm band and consider the implications of the power that was now attached to him, it wasn't as great as Xander or Faith's, but it was power none the less, and power like this should not be trivialised.

--=/^\=--

"So again," Faith grinned, pacing around the small room and smirking as she watched Anise try and follow her movements with her eyes. "You ask for our protection and you ally yourself with earth, but what have the Tok'Ra done for earth?"

Anise stumbled over the question again, this was the third time Faith had asked it and she was no closer to figuring out what the girl wanted her to say than she was the first time.

"Have you given them technology? Ships? Weapons? Anything to help them?" Faith asked, her tone now getting more than a little annoyed as she found out more and more about the Tok'Ra. "Well?" Faith asked, hopping up on the table and staring down at Anise.

"It isn't our place to help the Tau'ree in their fight; we have been fighting the Goa'uld for thousands of years." Anise's tone had slipped back into the holier than thou tone as she stood up and faced Faith directly. "And you will offer us protection."

"I will?" Faith almost broke out in laughter at Anise's petulant tone. "It isn't your place to help the Tau'ree, so why is it our place to help you?" Faith watched as Anise's brain ran over the conversation and tried to figure out a way around what she had just said. "Look, Ion's willing to help out, hell, he's probably got his own plans for the snake guys, but if you want his protection I've got to tell him something that will help him make the decision." Faith paused, she did want to help, despite an overwhelming urge to punch the alien woman stood in front of her, it sounded like they were fighting the same war Jack and the others here were, so why couldn't they just share technology and plans and all that and get it done a lot quicker?

"I will have to return to the council and explain to them what you have said." Anise finally folded.

"Fine, do what you need, but seriously, if you want to talk to Ion, drop the 'I'm better than you' crap, because, trust me on this sister, you don't want to piss him off when it comes to stuff like this, he won't give you another chance." Faith explained, standing up and hoping that Xander would be here to take care of this when Anise returned. Fighting aliens and vampires was all well and good, but playing host and all this dignitary crap just wasn't her, she was a front line girl, not someone who ironed out the paperwork and alliances from the back lines.

"Please tell General Hammond I wish to return through the Stargate to talk to the High Council, I will return in two of your hours." Anise explained, moving to the door and pausing with her hand on the door handle. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Faith asked, cocking her head to try and understand what Anise was asking.

"That Ion, he took Apophis' arm for raising it against him?" Anise seemed to almost shake as she asked the question.

"Yeah," Faith looked down to the ground, unable to meet Anise's eyes as she explained. "He cut it off for using one of those hand thingies against his friends."

Anise just nodded, unsure as to what to say before she opened the door and stepped through, closing the door behind her and leaving Faith alone with her thoughts.

--=/^\=--

"Aliens?" Joyce's voice rose another octave as Xander nodded slowly at her while Buffy seemed to smile sheepishly. "Aliens are real?"

"You'll believe vampires but not aliens?" Buffy grinned at her mom who was now pacing the room while she tried to absorb everything she'd been told.

"You've met aliens?" Joyce asked again, looking at Buffy and then at Xander when she nodded.

"Yeah, not what I expected either," Xander grinned, creating a quick construct of ET. "Nothing like that, but then," Dissolving the construct of ET he made another one of a Xenomorph from the aliens movies. "Nothing like that either, so I figure we got off light."

"What are they like?" Joyce asked in a small voice, her inner voice arguing that she didn't want to know against her curiosity that was begging to know what sort of things her daughter had seen and done.

"His dad calls them 'snakes'." Buffy quipped with a grin. "But I've never seen one."

"But... wait, you said you'd faced them, and your dad Xander?" Joyce asked, turning to both of them with separate questions.

"My dad," Xander smiled proudly. "Works at the military complex where they fight these things, remember the Stargate I told you about earlier, he goes through that and explored the galaxy, Tony," Xander's tone dropped to dangerously low levels before he forced a smile back onto his face. "Tony was never my real dad."

"They use people as hosts' mom," Buffy answered the question that had been posed to her. "Jack says their like snakes that get inside people and take over," She paused, shuddering. "I'm sure there's nicer ones though, right Xander?"

"Yeah," Xander grinned, creating a construct of Thor. "This is Thor, or an image of him anyway, he's grey really, not green, he's from the Asgard, I really have to talk to Daniel, that's one of the people my dad works with, he's the brain box there, about the relationship between the Asgard aliens and the Norse myths one day."

"Oh, what about the giant robot spiders?" Buffy grinned, excited about actually being able to talk about stuff like this with her mom at last.

"Replicators, weird things," Xander grinned before Joyce interrupted him.

"I think I need a drink before I learn anymore," Joyce explained before standing up and walking into the kitchen.

As Xander watched Joyce leave the room he walked over to Buffy and smiled at her, hugging her tightly. "It's going better than I thought it would."

Buffy nodded happily before her ring beeped at her. "Huh?" She asked in puzzlement, raising the ring up to stare at it and figure out why it was beeping.

"Mean's Faith is trying to contact us," Xander smiled, waving his hand over the ring as an image of Faith's head appeared in the middle of the room, slightly transparent and glowing with green energy. "Hey, everything going alright?"

"Xan, you gotta get over here, the aliens, these Tok'Ra, they want to ask for your protection." Faith babbled out at a speed Buffy was sure even Willow would be hard pushed to match.

"Whoah, slow down Faith, what did you tell them?" Xander asked as Buffy smiled at her mom who was watching from the door to the living room.

"I said they'd have to back up their request with some help for earth, she's gone back through the Stargate now to ask her bosses about it, Xander, you've got to help me here, I'm not a paperwork kind of person."

"You're doing fine," Xander smiled reassuringly at her. "If she says that she'll share tech with earth then I'll agree, on provision that I meet with her sometime, it is a her right?" He paused as Faith nodded. "Right, so tell her to hammer the details out with General Hammond and he can contact me if he thinks it's a good idea."

"So yes if they're willing to share, and if they're not?" Faith asked, a worried pause filled the air.

"They're advanced enough, from what Daniel told me anyway, they have spaceships and stuff, if they're not willing to share with earth then I'm not willing to 'share' with them." Xander said in a cold tone that made both Joyce and Buffy stare at him. "I can't be in space dealing with them all the time Faith," He explained as he saw the worried look on Faith's face. "If they're willing to help earth then I'm willing to help them, but if they won't play nice then I don't see why I should."

"I'll pass the message on." Faith said in a small voice. "But next time you're dealing with all this buster!"

"Deal," Xander grinned as the image vanished and Buffy's ring stopped glowing. "Can't believe it," Xander shook his head as Buffy and Joyce turned to him for an explanation. "I'm barely passing math and they want me to protect an entire alien race."

"With great power..." Joyce smiled at him.

"Yeah yeah, great power, great responsibility." Xander shrugged. "Heard it all before from Giles."

"Giles, the librarian?" Joyce asked. "You talk to your high school librarian about this?" She turned to Buffy with an annoyed look on her face.

"He we go again," Xander muttered before Buffy launched into an explanation of Watchers and how they train slayers.

--=/^\=--

"Hey," Faith grinned as she walked into the room where she could faintly see Sam working on something. "You want the light on or is this a dark room experiment or something?" Faith grinned as she saw Sam look up from the microscope and squint at her.

"Sorry," Sam muttered, blinking her eyes furiously. "How is it going with the Tok'Ra?"

"Just spoke to Xander; he says if they're willing to help earth with some of their technology then he's willing to help them. Do you mind?" Faith asked before flicking the light switch on.

"Oww," Sam closed her eyes tightly as she shielded them from the glare of the main lab room lights. "That's bright."

"Yeah, it's called light, guessing you don't get much down here with the giant mountain overhead and all." Faith grinned as she watched Sam blinking to adjust her eyes to the light, then frowning as her vision adjusted much quicker than it should have done. "What are you doing in here anyway?"

"I'm just running some tests on the armbands that Anise put on us," Sam smiled, her eyes quickly darting to the ring that she could see on Faith's finger and the fact that she was still wearing the skin tight costume that seemed to be her variant of Xander's 'Ion' costume. "It's a metal I'm completely unfamiliar with, I can't even isolate the compounds that make up the band itself, though I'm sure there must be an organic compound somewhere inside it, I just can't figure out what it would be."

"Science, not my strong suit." Faith shrugged, looking at the armband that was strapped tightly to Sam's forearm carefully. "Looks fragile though, you tried pulling it off?"

"The Colonel tried, he couldn't get it off, I think it must be using some sort of molecular adhesive to stay attached to the skin, and I'm hoping it will come off once it's finished what it was designed to do." Sam explained, tapping at the armband and frowning at the hollow metallic sound that echoed through the lab.

"You're sweating." Faith noted. "It's not that hot in here is it?"

Sam frowned for a second, reaching up and wiping her fingers across her forehead. "I'm running a slight fever, Anise is monitoring our vitals though, I'm sure if there was a problem then she would let us know."

"Anise went back through the Stargate about twenty minutes ago," Faith explained. "I think you'd better see the doc."

"You might be right," Sam confessed. "Can't you do something with that ring?" She asked, now wanting to know exactly what the rings were capable of and how they could be used.

Faith paused for a second, thinking about it. "I could, probably," She shrugged. "But since you've already got alien stuff stuck on you I don't want to risk it, go see the doc, if she can't find anything wrong then I'll try scanning you with the ring."

"Alright," Sam conceded the point, with her being unsure how the alien device on her arm operated she could see why Faith was nervous about introducing more alien technology into the mix, though was the ring alien technology? It was made on earth, from Xander, but that didn't explain where Xander got his powers from, he was from earth but that just left more questions.

"Go, see the doc," Faith's voice pulled her out of her musings. "I'll go talk to Xander's dad, see if he's running a temp like you are, if he is I'll send him down as well, then onto Daniel."

"Fine," Sam smiled at her before moving to leave the room. "One question though."

"Shoot," Faith grinned.

"Where did Xander get his powers from?" Sam asked, her eyes watching Faith's eyes for any give away signs of lies.

"Magic," Faith answered with a smirk before leaving the room and wandering the halls to find Jack.

--=/^\=--

"So Giles' knows about all of this?" Joyce asked in disbelief at everything that he daughter had kept from her.

"He knew about it before any of us," Xander explained. "He helped me more than anyone else, I trust him, and he's more like a father to me than Tony ever was." Xander practically spat the name of the man that had raised him out as it crossed his lips.

"I want to talk to him." Joyce's voice was firm; much like Buffy's when she wasn't going to budge over something. The decision had already been made as Joyce moved over to the front door and pulled her coat off of the hanger and started putting it on. "Now, or shall I come into school with you in the morning and do it there?"

Buffy paused, nearly whimpering at the thought of her mom yelling at Giles in front of everyone at school, not to mention the obvious fact that her mom didn't seem to grasp the idea of the secret identity thing because she was too upset at having such a huge part of her daughter's life being kept from her.

"I'll take you; can you go and help Faith?" Xander paused, staring at Buffy to let her know that he had a plan to calm Joyce down.

"Take care of her Xander." Buffy said with a smile before moving over to kiss her mom lightly on the cheek before Xander waved his hand in her direction and Buffy disappeared in a bright green flash.

"You want to yell at Giles right? To shout at him for keeping all this from you?" Xander didn't even break stride as he walked past Joyce and opened the door, walking out into the fresh air outside as Joyce followed, speechless over what had just happened. "You're asking yourself if he did the right thing, training Buffy to be who she is, helping her fight, and helping her survive." Xander paused, turning to face Joyce. "I don't want Buffy to see you argue with him, simple as that."

"He shouldn't have kept this from me, none of you should." Joyce stated firmly.

"Buffy told you once," Xander said simply as the both stood on the lawn outside, the cool night breeze blowing around them. "You had her committed."

"She told you?" Joyce gasped, she was sure that Buffy had repressed that, that she had tried to forget everything that had happened that summer when she had been put in an institution for nearly seven months.

"Summer, nineteen ninety-six, you read her diaries, she'd just seen her first watcher killed at the hands of Lothos. She'd been kicked out of school, was dealing with being a slayer with no one to talk to, no one who would believe her, and you had her committed." Xander said in a low tone, unable to even look Joyce in the eyes.

"She told you." Joyce stated in a whisper.

"No, she didn't, I don't think she even remembers it herself." Xander said, now looking up to face Joyce and stare into her eyes. "That summer nearly broke her, she was attacked in the hospital by some sort of demon, and because she was medicated, under the doctor's orders and authorised by you and her father, she was nearly killed protecting the other patients."

"I couldn't have known," Joyce said, her voice breaking as tears started running down her cheeks, "I just wanted her to be my little girl again."

"She still is," Xander tried to reassure Joyce. "She'll always be your little girl, but she's something greater as well, she's fighting for everyone on this planet, she does it because she cares, because of who she is, because of who you raised her to be."

"How did you find out?" Joyce asked, wiping the tears from her eyes. "If she never told you, if she doesn't even remember, how do you know?"

"It's just a memory Joyce, nothing more." Xander said simply before walking off into the night, pausing after a few steps to make sure that Joyce was following him as he used his powers to locate Giles; he was down at the coffee shop on the main street. They'd make their way there before heading back to Giles' place, hopefully Joyce would have calmed down a bit before then, hopefully.

--=/^\=--

"They all have significantly raised body temperatures." Doctor Fraiser explained to General Hammond as she handed her notes over from examining each member of SG1 that was wearing the armbands.

"Are they in any sort of danger?" General Hammond asked as he flicked through the papers that had been handed to him.

"All the symptoms are indicative of the presence of a virus in their system, but without Anise here to corroborate this I can't be certain, for all I know this is how the armbands are supposed to work." Doctor Fraiser explained, standing in the office and waiting for General Hammond's decision about what they should do.

"Anise should be returning soon, she said that the Tok'Ra council are normally quick at making decisions like this, until then I suggest you..." General Hammond stopped in mid sentence as a bright green flash in his office signified the entrance of anther one of their allies. "Xander?" He asked, blinking to try and clear the spots in his vision.

"Nope, just me." Buffy grinned as she looked down and noticing that she was wearing her Green Lantern outfit. "Damnit Xander, stop playing with my clothes when you do that."

"Is Xander coming also?" Hammond asked, curious as to why Buffy had come when they already had Faith on the base. "He should be, sometime, he's just dealing with my mom, she found out about all this," As if to explain she waved her hand over her costume then around the room. "So he's trying to calm her down."

"I see," Hammond said, frowning at the thought of another civilian knowing about the Stargate project. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Nope," Buffy chirped back up. "Like I said, Xander's dealing with it, well Xander and Giles, I'm just here, you know, I don't really know why I'm here, but I figure Xander must want me here for a reason."

"Well I believe Faith is in the cafeteria if you wish to see her, I can have someone show you if you'd like."

"Offworld activation," The announcement rang through the base as the red lights started flashing around the office, startling Buffy as she swirled around to check they weren't under attack or anything.

"It's just the Stargate, probably Anise returning from her meeting, Doctor, would you show our guest to the cafeteria and then have them both brought back here please." General Hammond smiled to reassure Buffy that this was all normal procedure on the air force base.

"Of course," Doctor Fraiser smiled at General Hammond before turning to Buffy. "This way please."

"See ya soon," Buffy grinned as she followed the Doctor out of the office and down the maze of hallways.

"So, what's going on?" Buffy asked, trying to get a feel for the situation as she followed the Doctor around the base.

"Well, while, I'm sorry, I didn't get her name." Doctor Fraiser stumbled in her explanations.

"Faith," Buffy smiled. "I'm Buffy."

"Janet Fraiser," Janet introduced herself. "Well, while Faith was in meeting with Anise she was trying an experiment out with some alien technology that they had uncovered, I believe it's introducing a virus into the bodies of the people wearing them and produces abnormal levels of adrenaline while boosting their physical and mental capabilities."

"Huh?" Buffy asked, trying to follow what the doctor was saying in her head. "So some fancy alien technology makes people stronger and smarter?"

"I don't know about smarter, but stronger and faster definitely." Janet explained as they reached the cafeteria. "Faith should be just inside; I'll wait here and take you back to General Hammond's office once you've talked to her."

"Right, be back in a sec." Buffy grinned back before pushing through the doors and looking around the thankfully empty cafeteria to find Faith sat at an empty table with a class of coke. "Hey, the General wants to talk to us."

"Buffy, thank god," Faith exclaimed, standing up from her table, her glass of coke long forgotten now. "I'm not cut out for this negotiation stuff, is Xander here?"

"Nope," Buffy frowned, unused to seeing Faith unsettled like this. "He wanted to talk with mom and Giles alone, so he sent me here."

"Rough," Faith shook her head. "We've got to wait for alien chick to come back anyway before we can do anything, did The General say what he wanted?"

"Alien chicks back," Buffy grinned at Faith's terms. "That's what the red flashy lights were for, now The General wants to see us all together."

"Sweet," Faith grinned before making her way towards the doors. "Come on; see what the aliens have to say."

"What do you think?" Buffy asked, not moving from her spot next to where Faith had been sitting.

"What about? The aliens?" Faith asked, twirling round to see Buffy nodding at her. "Yeah, I think we should help them, they're just like us, fighting the snake aliens, maybe they don't want to give us fancy ray guns or whatever, but from what Xander said the grey aliens won't give us alien technology either, and Xander's willing to help them, just seems like if we can help we should."

"I agree," Buffy smiled. "Now we just have to bring Xander around to it."

"He didn't like it?" Faith asked as they both made their way to the doors.

"He doesn't like the fact that they won't share with us, but keep asking us for help, I can sorta see what he means, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't help if we can." Buffy explained how she saw it. "Besides, if we do help then we get to go to their planet," Buffy bounced excitedly as they walked through the doors to see Doctor Fraiser waiting for them. "Hey, do alien planets have malls?"

"I don't think so," Faith laughed. "Besides, from what I saw of Anise's outfit, I wouldn't go shopping there anyway."

--=/^\=--

Giles' voice rang out from the coffee shop as Xander and Joyce approached it, accompanied by the soft sounds of an acoustic guitar they both paused, seeing if they could recognise the song being played. "In search of some rest, in search of a break. From a life of tests where something's always at stake. Where something's always so far..."

"Wow," Joyce paused at the entrance to the coffee shop, her eyes glued on Giles who was sat at the front of the shop, perched on a stool and quite happily strumming away at a guitar and singing the unfamiliar song. "He's good."

"Yeah," Xander nodded, smiling as he noticed Jenny making her way over to meet them. "I didn't even know he could sing."

"What about the moon and stars? What about soldier battle scars, and all the anger that they eat?" Giles continued to sing, smiling and nodding gently at Xander and Joyce as they watched.

"How long's Giles been doing this?" Xander asked in a whisper as Jenny managed to find her way through the crowd to stand with them.

"About once a week, he comes down here for the open night sessions, it's his 'grown up time' I think." Jenny suppressed a laugh thinking about how Giles was always spending all his time around students, having an hour or so a week to unwind like this must seem like heaven to him.

"Sorry," Xander grinned, forgetting Jenny and Joyce didn't know each other yet. "Jenny, Ms Calendar, teaches Computer Sciences, this is Joyce Summers, Buffy's mom, I'm doing the 'real world' speech for her."

"Ah," Jenny grinned sheepishly.

"You knew as well?" Joyce asked, her earlier anger coming back, how many people actually knew about this while keeping her daughter's life secret from her?

"Jenny kind of got caught up in it the same way I did," Xander said, waiting for Jenny's nod for him to continue and share the secret with her.

"So you got turned into your costume as well?" Joyce asked, remembering how Xander had explained how he got his powers.

"Afraid so," Jenny nodded, pulling a ten cent coin out of her pocket and holding it in her fingers. "And like Xander," She paused, effortlessly bending the coin over in front of Joyce's eyes before pressing it together into a small metal ball. "It stuck with me."

"She-Ra?" Joyce asked, a bit stunned at this latest revelation.

"Supergirl," Jenny explained with a blush. "Xander's been helping me adjust, I don't know anyone that knows more about what I am now, and how to accept it, how to do normal things again without, well, you get the picture."

"I'm starting to," Joyce smiled, understanding now that Xander had helped each of them come to terms with things and they had all helped him, it was amazing to think how much power there was in this room alone, but if what Xander had said about the aliens was true, then she was thankful they had it.

"What about aliens? What about you and me and... What about gold beneath the sea? What about..." Giles continued to sing, smiling as he watched Jenny and Joyce talk while Xander fetched them all a drink from the counter. He knew one day it would all come out to Joyce, and she seemed to be handling it well, but he just couldn't figure out why Buffy and Faith weren't with them, they must be on patrol or something, it was a weight off his mind just knowing that Xander was watching them and keeping an eye on them through their rings, knowing that he would back them up if needed, not that they should need any help with the rings that he had given them, but it was always nice to know he was there anyway.

"Here you go," Xander smiled as he handed a coffee to each of the women while keeping a can of coke for himself. "Giles shouldn't be long, then we can go back to his and you can talk to him about all of this, he can probably explain it better than I can."

"Actually, I needed to talk to you as well," Jenny said, biting her lip in embarrassment as she wondered how to phrase what she was going to ask.

"Shoot, what's up?" Xander asked, opening his coke and taking a mouthful.

"Can we," Jenny paused, looking around the crowded coffee shop where everyone was still paying attention to Giles' singing. Nodding her head to the back entrance to the shop she smiled when Xander nodded.

"Private talk, right." Smiling he guided Joyce to a table and threw his jacket over one of the chairs. "We'll be back in a sec; Jenny just needs to ask me some questions."

"Questions about what?" Joyce asked, suspicious about being left out of the loop again just when she thought she was becoming part of her daughter, and her daughter's friend's lives.

Jenny grinned, leaning down to whisper something in Joyce's ear and was rewarded by Joyce blushing bright red and nearly choking on her coffee. "Xander has the answers, I think aside from the people who wrote the character, only he knows about stuff like this."

"Right, now I'm worried," Xander quipped with a grin before leading Jenny outside the back of the coffee shop to the back ally where they could talk privately.

"I don't really know how to say this," Jenny began, running the words over in her mind as she tried to figure out how best to phrase what she was trying to ask.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with your powers then." Xander said with a smile. "Well I lent you all the comics I've got; I thought that should have answered most of it."

"Oh, it did, I've got a handle on the x-ray vision, heat vision, all that stuff, it's the involuntary stuff that's getting in the way." Jenny explained, trying to give Xander a gentle nudge in the direction that she needed him to go.

"Ok, like sneezes and stuff?" Xander asked, figuring that was what she was talking about. "Well, I guess that might be a problem, I mean, your lung muscle is a lot denser now, you could probably blow a forest fire out if you needed to."

"Not exactly, but now that you mention it, I haven't sneezed since the change, do Kryptonians sneeze anyway?" Jenny asked, letting her brain get sidetracked on this little irrelevant detail.

"I don't know," Xander shrugged. "I don't think it was ever actually covered in the comics." He laughed, trying to picture Superman with a cold. "Ok, so it wasn't the sneezing, what then?"

"It's like you were saying, the muscle thing, all my muscles are like that, ALL of them." Jenny explained, putting emphasis on the word 'all'. "And, well, it's starting to get in the way for me and Rupert."

"Whoah, whoah there, now I see where you're going and it's quickly heading into TMI land." Xander gave an exaggerated shudder with a grin. "So, what you're saying is, you and Giles can't, you know."

"Exactly, because the 'you know' muscles are too strong for his 'you know what'." Jenny blushed, trying to word this as sensitively as he could for the teen.

"Gah," Xander covered his ears with his hands and pressed his eyes shut as tightly as he could. "I so didn't need to know that."

"Well, you're the only one I can come to for this." Jenny confessed, blushing from the state of the conversation she was having with the seventeen year old. "I never thought I'd be coming to you for sex advice either, if that's any consolation."

"Right," Xander started pacing about the ally, trying to figure this out logically. "It looks to me like you've got three options. One, abstinence, and from the glare you're sending me, I'm guessing that's a no."

"Right," Jenny laughed at him.

"Two, kryptonite, I could see if I could create some small amounts of it, maybe just enough to weaken you, it would be painful but might give you enough time for, well, whatever you want to do that I so don't need to know about." Xander muttered, shaking his head desperately trying to clear all the mental images this was bringing up. "It would have to be small, and close to the muscles you want weakened, but too much exposure could kill you."

"And the third option?" Jenny asked, pinning all her hopes on this.

"Magic," Xander said simply. "Magic affects Kryptonians just like it would normal humans, that's why Angelus could bite you, he's a supernatural being and his teeth were demon teeth, so he could bite you like your skin was normal."

"Makes sense," Jenny nodded.

"So, Giles needs to do something that would strengthen his muscles, or weaken yours, either way, I'm guessing weakening yours would be the best bet, though I can't think what he could use." Xander explained, thinking this though to make sure there weren't any other options he'd missed. "Oh, one other option, red sun radiation, under a red star you're just like a normal human, if we could somehow simulate the radiation given off by a red star then you would be normal while in the range of it, Sam, the scientist that works with my dad, she might be able to help there, I'll ask her next time I'm there."

"But until then?" Jenny asked, happy now at this ray of light for a normal life.

"Until then, just do what you have been doing, but don't tell me, because I really don't need the nightmares about that." Xander shuddered with a grin again as he moved to go back into the coffee shop.

"Is the thought of me naked and sweaty really that bad nightmare material?" Jenny whispered to Xander with a laugh as they made their way back inside the coffee shop.

"I so didn't need those images," Xander frowned back at her as they made their way back to the table where Joyce was sat paying rapt attention to Giles who was just finishing up his song.

"What about when buildings fall? What about that midnight phone call... The one that wakes you from your peace? Well, I am not, I am not, I am not in need." Giles finished his song with a final strum of the guitar, smiling to everyone as they started applauding and asking for an encore. "Not tonight, sorry, I have some friends waiting for me." He smiled as he put his acoustic guitar back in the case before leaving it on the counter as the crowd dispersed to get their own drinks and start talking amongst themselves.

"Nicely done G-Man," Xander quipped as Giles took his seat next to them. "I didn't know you could play."

"Yes, well," Giles smiled as he took a mouthful of his tea. "I did used to be in a band, back in London, 'Mucous Membrane' John named the band, he was the singer who started it, this was back in the late seventies though, Beano on drums and Lester on bass, I was the guitarist, I suppose I never got out of the habit, though I prefer a bit more melody these days as opposed to the punk rock that we sang back then."

"Punk? Giles, you rebel." Xander teased with a grin, trying to imagine Giles in a leather jacket and playing punk rock.

"Yes, well, it was John's fault, he was the one that got me into magic after all, but I digress, I believe we have more pressing issues here than my sordid history in the punk rock music scene." Giles smiled at Joyce who had been sat watching the interaction between the two men. "Might I assume that Xander and Buffy have filled you in with all the necessary history?" He smiled when she nodded, still a bit unsure of what she actually wanted to say to the man, the anger than she felt before just wasn't there anymore, replaced with a more simple curiosity about what had actually been going on under her nose in the world. "Speaking of, where are Faith and Buffy tonight?"

"With my dad, something about his work needed attention, nothing major, they're dealing with it." Xander shrugged, not wanting to say anymore in the quiet coffee shop now in case they were overheard.

"And I assume you are keeping an eye on them?" Giles smiled when Xander nodded simply. "Then we can continue, I assume you have questions." As Joyce nodded mutely Giles' smiled and turned to Jenny. "And from your blush I can assume that Xander has answered your questions."

"Yeah, didn't need to know about that Giles." Xander grinned, finishing off his coke and crumpling up the can before throwing it in the trash.

"You have an answer then?" Giles seemed more interested in this now than Joyce.

"Three or four actually, but I'll let Jenny fill you in, bad choice of words," He grinned as Jenny nearly spat her coffee over the table. "I think we need to deal with Joyce's questions first."

"I agree," Giles nodded, finishing his tea before moving to retrieve his guitar case. "And I believe more comfortable answers will be found back at home, so shall we retire there for the evening?"

"Sounds good to me," Xander smiled as he checked with Joyce.

"I just want to know who did this to my daughter, who decided that she would be..." Joyce started but was cut off by Xander when he realized what she was going to say.

"As we said, back at home, you know, secret identity being an issue here, we don't want a repeat of ninety-six, do we?" Despite the puzzled look Giles and Jenny gave him Joyce paused and lowered her eyes to the floor. "So, back home, you'll get your answers there."

--=/^\=--

"We'd like to get a better read on exactly what these things are doing to you." General Hammond explained as he sat at the briefing table with SG1, Buffy, Faith and Anise.

"They have introduced a virus into your bodies, I've isolated it in your blood workup but I can't identify it yet." Doctor Fraiser explained. "I think the armbands may be having a narcotic like effect. Wearing them may become addictive; it's just one of the things I would like to rule out."

"See, playing with alien tech is bad," Buffy noted with a smirk.

"Please, take the armbands off." General Hammond requested firmly, ignoring the looks of SG1 as they started to protest. "Are you refusing to comply with a direct order?"

"Come on," Faith said. "Take the toys off, then we can talk with Anise about the Tok'Ra protection." Faith then frowned as she saw Anise look away from her gaze as the members of SG1 tried to take off the armbands.

"Err…having a little problem here sir," Jack muttered, trying to slide his fingers under the armband to pull it off of his arm. "Having a hard time complying."

"Oh for god's sake," Buffy muttered, reaching over and tugging at the arm band.

"Hey, watch it there; you nearly pulled my arm off." Jack shouted, pulling his arm back from Buffy's grip.

"Oh this can't be good," Faith muttered.

"Doctor Fraiser, take SG1 down to the infirmary and see what you can do about removing the arm bands." General Hammond stated

"Follow me please," Doctor Fraiser said as she stood up and made her way out of the conference room.

"You know, you should have told them everything about the arm bands before you started this experiment." Buffy said as she watched the group leave the room, leaving just her, Faith, Anise and General Hammond at the table.

"I am sure that the arm bands will remove themselves once they have adjusted to the subject's body." Anise stated, still not meeting Buffy or Faith's gaze.

"And what if they don't?" Faith asked, now a bit worried about what Xander would do to her if he found out that she had been performing a dangerous experiment like this on his father.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," General Hammond stated. "But you should know that Ion thinks of Colonel O'Neill like family." He paused, letting Anise wrap her head around that before continuing. "Now, to the subject matter at hand, Faith told me that Ion requested that you share some of your technological advancements with earth as a gesture of good faith between our races, and then he would consider your request for protection. What have the High Council said to this?"

Anise seemed to visibly wilt under the attention as both Slayers focused their gaze on Anise, waiting for her answer. "They refused." Faith blew out a breath that she had been holding, muttering something under hear breath that made Buffy nod in agreement, though Anise and General Hammond couldn't hear it. "They said that if Ion does not take the Tok'Ra under his protection then the Tok'Ra will no longer class Earth as an ally, and will cut all diplomatic ties."

General Hammond just shook his head; this was possibly the worst news he'd had since they had started the SGC. "Is there nothing you can do to convince them?"

"I tried," Anise said, her tone conveying that she really didn't want to be the one telling them this. "If I could talk with Ion directly, make him see that..." Whatever Anise was going to say was cut off when a bright green flash at the far end of the table signified Xander's arrival.

"You are." His voice echoed through the room and Anise seemed to wilt even further as Xander stood there, his palms stretched out on the table as he lent over, his body shining with green energy and his eyes practically on fire with rage. "I've been listening to it all, you request my help, then conduct experiments on my friends, you think that you can bully me into helping you by threatening to remove earth from your list of allies, you think you can just treat me and my friends like that and then expect me to protect you from anyone else in the galaxy that you deem in an enemy of yours?"

Anise tried to speak up as she stood, desperately trying to swing the balance of power back to her favour where she liked it.

"I don't think so," Xander cut her off before the words even left her lips. "Also," He waved his hand and with a green flash a Tok'Ra data pad appeared on the table before Xander's eyes glowed and the data pad melted into a puddle of sticky goo. "I did not authorize you to scan my friends, or the weapons I have given them." Even Faith and Buffy seemed to be pissed off at this revelation.

"But I..." Anise tried to explain her motives, that she only wanted to understand how they were able to do what the SGC claimed they could do.

"No, you wanted to figure out how my weapons worked so you could build your own. Not. Going. To. Happen!" Xander bit out each word. "You can go back to your 'High Council' and tell them this, Earth is under my protection, if you want to remove alliances with earth, that is your choice, but if you do so then I will never offer you the protection you so deeply want, now, this meeting is over."

"But..." Anise tried desperately to speak up, to get Xander to agree to put the Tok'Ra under his protection, now that she had seen a glimpse of his power she was more confident than ever that with the Tok'Ra under his protection they would be able to overthrow the Goa'uld.

"I said it's over." Xander stated and with a bright green flash Anise found herself stood in front of the Stargate three levels below where she had been. All data pads and technology removed from her person. "Send her home." Xander said simply to General Hammond as he got up to leave.

"Son, wait..." General Hammond started to say, but then trailed off when he realised how much Anise had managed to anger the young man. Moving to a phone on the wall he picked it up and ordered the technicians to dial the gate to the Tok'Ra base so that Anise could go home. It looked like her experiment was now well and truly over, now they just had to figure out a way of removing the arm bands without her help.


	23. Chapter 23

"Absolutely not Colonel." Hammond nearly shouted his reply, cutting O'Neill off in mid sentence.

"We should be out there General, using these armbands to do some damage to the snakes, not cooped up in here." Jack countered, trying to bring General Hammond around to his way of thinking.

"And what about long term effects?" Hammond asked, making O'Neill pause and consider this. "We still don't know what effects those armbands are having on your body, and now that Anise has left we most likely never will."

"We just shouldn't be sitting around wasting this stuff. We ought to be out kicking some Goa'uld butt! I mean look at this." Jack paused; his eyes flicking around the room before he swung out with a punch which connected with the wall nearest him, carving a hole clean through into the adjoining room where Buffy and Faith jumped in surprise before moving over to examine it. "Sorry." Jack muttered, pulling his hand back through the hole and smiling at the two girls he could now see.

"Nice strength," Faith muttered. A bit bemused by the show of force that Jack had just used.

"Thanks," Jack shook his head. "We should be out there, doing damage to the snakes, not in your office, sir." He added the last, remembering his place in the hierarchy of the base.

"Colonel, I'm just not fully convinced you are in complete control of your new abilities." Hammond explained.

"I'll say," Buffy muttered from where she and Faith were still watching through the hole.

"Come on, we can be ready in three seconds." Jack pleaded, really wanting to get off the base and really cut loose.

"Colonel..." Hammond made the single word a warning.

"Two seconds," Jack pleaded, bouncing on his feet.

"Jack, please, just get the hell out of my office!" Hammond shouted, now eyeing the hole where he could see Buffy and Faith watching Jack in amusement. "And have Siler call maintenance."

"Yes, Sir," Jack muttered before snapping off a crisp salute and walking out of the office.

--=/^\=--

"What's up with those armband thingies?" Buffy asked as she moved back to sit at the table with Faith while they waiting for Xander to return.

"Dunno," Faith shrugged. "Xander's dad isn't normally like this, well, ok, maybe he is, but he's not normally punching holes in walls or arguing with the General like that."

"Some sort of alien mind control thing?" Buffy asked, at first joking about it and then actually considering it seriously.

"Don't think so, Sam and Daniel seemed like themselves, maybe it just gets worse the longer they've had them on, the Doc did say that Jack was the first one to get one." Faith explained, rapping her fingernails on the table, bored with waiting.

"Right, not mind control," Buffy accepted. "Drugs? Maybe it's giving them some sort of alien alcohol that's making them act like this."

"Could be," Faith smiled. "Xander didn't look too happy with Anise though." Faith said, quickly switching the conversation onto the one thing they had avoided talking about ever since Xander left to blow off some steam.

"Can you blame him?" Buffy asked. "First she does experiments on people, including Xander's dad, then she tries scanning us and the rings so she could make her own, and she completely ignored Xander's request for alien whatsits for earth."

"It's not like she ignored it, she asked her government people, they just said no." Faith said, not wanting to side with Anise over this but finding herself agreeing more and more with her as time went on. "Where did Xander say he was going anyway?"

"Just said to blow off some steam," Buffy shrugged, "Whatever that means." Buffy smiled as they were interrupted by a knock at the door and General Hammond walked in.

"I believe I know where Mister Harris is," General Hammond explained. "I've just received reports from SpaceCom at NASA of several explosions in the asteroid belt just beyond the orbit of Mars."

"Right," Faith drawled out. "So he's blowing off steam by blowing up space rocks."

"Better than punching holes through walls," Buffy grinned then turned serious as Hammond looked at her. "How is Jack?"

"I've confined him to one of the diplomatic rooms on level nineteen along with the rest of SG1, until Doctor Fraiser is sure that the armbands have no negative side effects I'm going to keep them confined." Hammond explained.

"Good luck with that," Buffy smirked. "They're at least as strong as a slayer; if they want out I don't see walls stopping them." Buffy nodded to the hole the in wall as a reminder of what they were now capable of if angered.

"I see your point," Hammond conceded. "There isn't really anything we can do though, they are stronger and faster than anyone on the base and are getting restless not doing anything."

"I'm like that," Faith interrupted. "Need to burn off energy or I'd go crazy."

"Me too," Buffy agreed.

"How to you cope with it then?" Hammond asked, a bit curious to learn more about the two slayers, coupled with the fact that SG1 were now more like slayers than normal air force personnel.

"Slaying." Both girls answered at once with a grin. "Nothing better than a good fight to burn off energy." Buffy continued.

"Yeah, though after slaying you've gotta cope with the two H's." Faith grinned. "So let them have a fight, then get a lot of food ready and a cold shower." Faith laughed as Buffy blushed at the confused look General Hammond was sending their way.

"General Hammond, sir, SG1 are missing." Siler reported as he walked through the still open door. "I went to check on them and see if they needed anything and the room was empty sir."

"Have you checked the cafeteria?" Hammond asked, remembering how each of SG1 had developed a sweet tooth and a high metabolism rate because of the armbands.

"Or the gym," Buffy pointed out, "Maybe they went to burn off some energy."

"Showers." Faith grinned.

"Yes sir, they're not on base, the elevator cameras recorded them leaving the base but topside didn't report anything unusual." Siler explained.

"If they're as fast as us too, then the guy's at the exit wouldn't have seen anything anyway, not to mention Jack's black op's training." Faith explained.

"I want them found, send cars to each of their homes." Hammond barked his order out. "We can't have people running around with alien technology, not with their strength anyway."

"Hey," Buffy and Faith muttered, feeling a bit offended there.

"Sorry," Hammond apologized; completely forgetting who else was in the room with him. "But you understand what I mean."

"We can help," Faith said with a smile, standing up from the table. "Colorado Springs isn't that big; we'll do a sweep and keep an eye out for them."

"Yeah, would feel better than sitting around doing nothing." Buffy agreed.

"Be careful," Hammond said, "And try and keep a low profile, we don't need any more UFO nuts getting pictures of unidentified lights flying over the base."

"Gotcha," Faith grinned. "Low profile, slayer special." Buffy nodded in agreement before the two moved to leave the room and head to the elevator.

"This isn't going to end well," General Hammond muttered as he watched the two girls leave before heading into his office to have his usual aspirin after dealing with SG1's anticts.

--=/^\=--

As Sam leans over the pool table she can almost see the pool balls moving in her mind, her thoughts are racing so fast she can perfectly predict how the balls are going to play out, the angles of incidence and refraction from the cushions are easily accessible to her and she knows just how hard to strike the cue ball to get the perfect spin.

Lining up her cue she aims perfectly, striking it with just the right amount of force as everyone around the table watches as the white ball streaks off round the table in an almost impossible arc, pocketing one, two then a third ball directly in a row before coming to rest in perfect alignment with the black ball just next to the corner pocket nearest her.

"How the hell did you do that?" The man who was playing her, who had yet to even strike a ball asked as he stood up and eyed the table.

"Wanna go double or nothing?" Sam asked with a smirk, picking up the fifty dollar bill from the table and waving it in front of him.

"No, I think I'll cut my losses!" The man muttered, downing his beer and dropping the cue onto the table where it clattered against the balls still resting there.

"Smart move." Daniel grinned from his table where he was watching with a drink.

"What are you laughing at geek?" The man asked, turning to sneer at Daniel as Jack and Sam just watched on with a smile.

"Excuse me?" Daniel asked, standing up from the table, finally happy to know that he can actually fight back against bullies like this for the first time.

"Just let it go Daniel." Jack muttered, his brain a bit cloudy from the alcohol and adrenaline rushing through his system but he can still remember what they are now capable of doing if they got into a fight with the armbands on.

"No," Daniel smirked, taking of his glasses and putting them on the table next to his pint. "Not this time." As two of the man's friends moved to stand next to him he just watched as the man picked up the pool cue from the table and twirled it in his hand. "Is that supposed to scare me?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Take the offer," A new voice came from the entrance to the room behind everyone. "You don't want to do this tonight."

Twirling round everyone saw Faith and Buffy stood in the entrance way, they were leaning up against one of the walls and seemed to be quite happily enjoying the show. "General Hammond sent us to find you," Buffy explained. "The new fashion accessories give of quite a bit of energy, easy to track down if you know how." She smirked as she saw Jack, Sam and Daniel raise their hands to the armbands automatically, the fight now forgotten for the moment.

"Trust me, you don't want to do this." Faith said, stepping forward and getting in the man's face, she could see him calculating the odds and the fact that a military officer had been mentioned had thrown the fight out of him a bit.

"Whatever," The man sneered, throwing the cue across the room where Daniel deftly snatched it out of the air and brought it to a stop under his arm with a flourish.

"Always wanted to do that," Daniel smirked as Jack chuckled at him while the three men left the room.

"So, coming back to the base or do we have to take you back?" Buffy asked, hoping they would choose the former as she wasn't looking forward to going up against Xander's dad and two of his friends, especially when they were hopped up on alien super technology and had military fighting experience behind them.

"Come on, back to the base campers." Jack muttered, rolling his eyes at being caught for this.

"But..." Both Sam and Daniel tried to interrupt with their objections.

"Now." Jack said, his voice not leaving any room for argument.

"Sir," Sam snapped off a sarcastic salute before moving to get her coat while Daniel just glared at him.

"You coming?" Jack asked, eying Daniel carefully.

"You can't order me back Jack," Daniel said calmly. "I'm not military."

"No," Faith said, moving to stand between them. "But you're playing with fancy toys and General Hammond wants them back, so we can do this the easy way..."

"Or we can take you back in a cage," Buffy finished off, moving to stand by Faith, her ring glowing slightly as a reminder to Daniel of what they could do.

"Right," Daniel muttered, fetching his glasses before moving to get his coat. "Whatever."

"I liked him more before he got that armband thingie," Buffy whispered to Faith.

"Mind control," Faith whispered back with a laugh as the two slayers followed SG1 out of the restaurant and back to Jack's car.

--=/^\=--

"Look, all I'm saying is that we need to find a way to get these alien thingies off of them, I mean Daniel was about to start a bar fight." Buffy explained as she sat down at the table where General Hammond, Faith, Doctor Fraiser and Teal'c were discussing their options.

"I concur, their behaviour has been most erratic of late." Teal'c announced, his deep voice making everyone at the table pay attention to his words.

"I gotta agree with the big guy," Faith nodded, smiling across the table. "This isn't like them, we need to get those arm bands off."

"We've tried everything we have," Doctor Fraiser explained, flicking through a wad of test result print outs in front of her. "The armbands seem to have bonded to their arms at the molecular level, aside from amputation I don't see a way to physically remove them."

"We'll leave that as a last resort," General Hammond nodded. "What about the Tok'ra, surely they must have the resources to remove these."

"I doubt it General," Doctor Fraiser said. "The armbands aren't compatible with the naquadah in their system, much the same reason why they wouldn't work for Teal'c, if they had tested them on someone else they wouldn't have needed SG1 for the tests."

"So they used us as guinea pigs, gotta say, they're not getting in my good books any time soon." Buffy smirked.

"Would Anise be willing to share her research on how to remove them?" General Hammond asked, a bit wary of sending anyone to ask the Tok'ra for assistance after Xander had just sent Anise back through the 'Gate with a stern warning.

"All of her notes are still here," Doctor Fraiser explained. "From what I can translate, there isn't anything about removing the armbands themselves, but Doctor Jackson would be better at translating it." She paused, glancing at the alien data device in front of her and the weird symbols that were scrolling across its screen. "It's still linked to the medical scanner's that SG1 are wearing, I've only been able to understand bits of it, but they all seem to be running a high fever and have varying metabolism spikes, but I can tell you that the human body was not designed to run at this level, I can't be sure without further testing, but I believe that they would all be suffering from extreme tachycardia with the rest of their internal organs being pushed to keep up."

"English please?" Faith asked, looking a bit bemused at the medical terminology. "You know, for those of us who don't speak doctor."

"They're burning out." Buffy said, grasping the simple concepts of what Doctor Fraiser had said, even if she didn't understand the terminology used.

"Simply put, yes." Doctor Fraiser agreed. "The human body just wasn't designed for this, if we don't get the armbands off of them, well, the prognosis isn't good, but my guess would be multiple organ failure, then the rest of the body would shut down to try and regain a normal rhythm."

"Right, then we need to get these things off of them, without cutting their arms off," Faith caught on, now that she understood how desperate the situation was. She wouldn't like to be Anise if Xander's dad died, not after only just finding him. "I could go and talk to Anise, see what she knows, see if she'd be willing to help."

"Agreed," General Hammond nodded.

"I will accompany you." Teal'c announced.

"Glad to have ya," Faith grinned over at him.

"I'll go see if I can find Xander, see if I can get him to come back and help." Buffy explained, thinking that he would be the best person to help with this. "Where did you say he was?"

"The asteroid belt, just beyond Mars orbit." General Hammond explained.

"Right, which way's that?" Buffy asked a bit sheepishly.

"The asteroid belt is about one point six AU from Earth," General Hammond explained, trying to calculate that into a distance that Buffy would be able to grasp.

"Right, what's that in kilometres?" Buffy muttered, trying to figure it out in her head, she figured it would be far away, if its past mars and not visible in the night sky, then it had to be quite far away."

"The distance between your current position and the outer edge asteroid belt between Sol four and Sol five is one hundred and fifty eight million, five hundred and seventy three thousand, eight hundred and eighty kilometres." The almost mechanical tone seemed to come from everywhere in the room at once as it announced the answer to Buffy's question.

"Who said that?" Buffy asked, darting out of her chair and looking around the room for someone she hadn't spotted before. "You got a Hal computer in here or something." As soon as she finished the sentence she frowned, shaking her head. "I've been spending too much time with Xander, 2001 references just aren't me."

"Uh, Buff, the know it all voice came from the ring." Faith said with a grin, ignoring Buffy's comment as she eyed her ring warily as Buffy did the same.

"You can speak?" Buffy asked, raising the ring up and trying to talk into it. When no response came she tried again. "Anyone there?" Shaking her hand violently she looked over at Faith. "You sure?"

"It glowed when the voice gave you your answer; it only does that when it's being used." Faith explained with a shrug why she thought it was the ring. "Makes sense to me."

"Uh, repeat that please?" Buffy said, focusing her voice and thoughts on the ring.

"Repeating queried answer: The distance between your current position and the outer edge asteroid belt between Sol four and Sol five is one hundred and fifty eight million, five hundred and seventy three thousand, eight hundred and eighty kilometres." The almost mechanical tone came again, this time everyone was watching Buffy's ring as it glowed faintly when the voice rang through the room.

"Ok, it can talk," Buffy muttered, staring at the ring now like a new toy. Just when she thought she had seen everything the rings could do, something like this surprised her.

"Makes sense I guess, I mean, in the comics they could talk, run scans, anything you needed really, as long as you could think of it and focus on it." Faith smirked, thanking Willow mentally for lending her all those Green Lantern comics.

"Right, um, can you locate Xander for me?" Buffy asked, feeling a bit stupid as she talked into the ring before realizing that people here were used to much weirder things. As the ring glowed she awaited an answer before a beam of light shot out of the ring and displayed a top down view of the Solar System with a bright green dot in the asteroid belt, along with two green dots on earth and a third green triangle further down.

"Now that's cool," Faith grinned, standing up and walking around the image to get a better view. Even General Hammond and Doctor Fraiser seemed impressed, while Teal'c had just stood up, one eyebrow raised and was looking at the projection with interest. "Guess that one's Xander." Faith muttered, poking at the green dot in the asteroid belt before pulling her hand back as it passed through the projection.

"Ok, so that's Xander, here's us, so what's this?" Buffy asked, pointing to the two green dots that she was guessing were her and Faith, and then looking at the green triangle.

"Unknown power ring energy signature." The voice responded.

"Ok, unknown, I thought you knew everything." Faith muttered.

"Unknown power ring energy signature." The voice said again, this time Faith's ring glowed slightly as the voice answered.

"Right, must be linked somehow." Faith muttered, looking at her ring as it had just given the answer to a question she had posed to Buffy's ring.

Before they could ask any more questions, the red lights around the base started flashing again before the heavy metal shutters on the other side of the glass windows dropped down, covering their view of the gate room.

"What the hell?" Buffy asked, the projection over the table fading out from view as she whirled around, trying to figure out what was going on.

"What in blazes is going on down there?" General Hammond barked his question into the phone he'd just snatched up from the wall. "We don't have any teams going off world."

"Uh oh." Faith muttered, hoping what was happening wasn't what she thought was happening.

"I'm not getting any response from the dialling room." General Hammond announced before moving out of the room and heading down to the room beneath where the dialling computer was housed, followed by Teal'c and then Buffy and Faith to see what was going on.

--=/^\=--

"The base is in lockdown." General Hammond explained as they reach the base of the stairs, seeing the blast shield down over the 'Gate room and the blast doors surrounding the entrances and exits to the dialling room made it obvious what had happened. "See if these men are alright." He nodded at the three unconscious technicians on the floor before moving over to the computer.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked, flashing into her 'work uniform' as Faith did the same, if the base was under attack the Goa'uld were about to learn that Earth wasn't as undefended as it once was.

"P4X-992." General Hammond muttered as the distinctive sound of the Stargate activating could be heard echoing through the room. "SG14 just returned from a recon mission there, Apophis is building some sort of new battle ship, the other side of the 'Gate was heavily defended, they barely made it out alive."

"Ok, suicide mission then." Faith muttered as the sound of the 'Gate deactivating was heard.

"SG1." Teal'c said calmly. "I believe they have gone to destroy the new ship."

"Makes sense," Faith nodded. "They're stronger and faster, could probably do it without any problems." Then she paused as something registered with her. "Wait, Apophis, isn't that the guy that lost his arm when he attacked Xander?"

"Indeed." Teal'c nodded slowly. "I believe this ship was designed specifically to attack Earth and combat the new threat that..." Teal'c paused as the unfamiliar name passed over his lips. "Xander now poses to the Goa'uld reign."

"We've got to help them." Buffy said flatly.

"Wait, they need our help?" Faith asked, thinking back to how fast and strong SG1 now were.

"Doctor Fraiser?" General Hammond asked as the Doctor finished examining the unconscious men on the floor.

"They'll be fine sir; it looks like they were all injected with a fast acting sedative. They'll be out for a few hours but after that they should be fine." Doctor Fraiser explained. "The last blood tests I ran on SG1 showed signs of multiple organ failure; I don't know how long they have left."

"See, they need our help." Buffy said in a 'told ya so' tone of voice.

"Alright, I'm authorising a rescue mission, just go in, bring SG1 home, don't try and do anything dangerous though." General Hammond said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"I will accompany you." Teal'c's low voice echoed through the room.

"Sorry T, this'll be quicker if we do it from the sky." Faith said as Buffy nodded in agreement with her.

"Neither of you are familiar with Goa'uld technology or writing; you will need my help to effectively find SG1." Teal'c explained.

"He's got a point." General Hammond said. "Neither of you have been off world before, Teal'c would be a valuable asset."

"Alright," Faith conceded the point. "Grab your stuff, dial the gate, let's go and get them."

As General Hammond started tapping away on the keys with Doctor Fraiser's help, Faith and Buffy turned to leave the room while Teal'c just waited patiently.

"Um, can you open the doors first?" Buffy asked shyly as they came to the exit of the room and found a heavy blast door blocking their exit.

--=/^\=--

"Ready?" Buffy asked as they waited in the 'Gate room as Teal'c made his way into the room, holding his staff weapon tightly in his hand.

"Indeed." Teal'c nodded as he moved to stand beside them.

"Remember, bring SG1 home, I don't want you girls facing any unnecessary dangers." General Hammond's voice came over the speakers as he watched from the dialling room.

"You got it," Faith grinned as she bounced on the balls of her feet, ready for a fight at last.

"Come on, what can be out there that's scarier than a demon?" Buffy asked with a grin before it faltered. "They don't have space demons do they? Alien demon type things?"

"Guess we'll see." Faith smirked as the Stargate started spinning round and the first chevron locked.

"I have heard tales of the Mar'toun, the stories Master Bra'tac told me as a child likened them to the vampires you fight here on Earth." Teal'c explained as the Stargate continued to spin.

"Alien vamps, great." Buffy muttered sarcastically.

"The Mar'toun have not been seen in many generations though, it was believed they were wiped out by the Goa'uld when they first took Unas for hosts." Teal'c finished his explanation as the Stargate vortex exploded outwards, almost punctuating his final words.

"Right, we'll fly through and take to the skies as soon as we come out the other side," Buffy explained her plan. "You get Teal'c in a bubble or something, I'll keep an eye out for Jack and the others."

"Sounds good," Faith grinned, cracking her knuckles before turning to Teal'c. "Not afraid of heights are ya big guy?"

Teal'c just stared at Faith in response, not even dignifying her question with a response.

"Didn't think so," Faith smirked as a green line shot out of her ring and enveloped Teal'c in a protective emerald bubble. "Ready when you are B."

"We shouldn't keep them waiting then." Buffy grinned before hovering up to about six feet off the air and shooting off through the open Stargate in a green blur.

"Hold on." Faith grinned over her shoulder to Teal'c as she lifted herself and the bubble off the ground.

"To what?" Teal'c asked in complete seriousness.

"See your point." Faith grinned before darting forward into the event horizon of the Stargate, the green bubble holding Teal'c following her a few seconds afterwards.

--=/^\=--

"Whoah," Buffy muttered as she hovered in the sky above the Stargate, upon exiting the other side she'd shot straight up in the air in the hope of getting out of range of any of the weapons on the ground, turns out she didn't need to though as she stared at the battalion of unconscious Jaffa on the ground. "You seeing this Faith?" She asked as Faith came up beside her carrying the bubble containing Teal'c behind her.

"Yeah, guessing Jack wasn't messing around here." Faith said, a bit uncomfortable with the sight of all the unconscious Jaffa and knowing it was Xander's dad that had done it.

"They will survive," Teal'c said stoically. "Their symbiotes will heal them; we should use the time to retrieve SG1 before they awaken."

"Gotta go with the big guy here," Faith nodded. "Don't really want to fight our way through these guys to escape."

"Right, take it that's the ship." Buffy nodded to the distance where they could see the giant shape of the new Goa'uld battle ship Apophis was constructing, it was easily three or four times the size of the ships they had seen before when he attacked earth, if he had a fleet of these at his disposal then Earth would be in serious trouble if Xander was occupied at the time.

"Indeed." Teal'c nodded.

"Any weapons or defences we should know about?" Buffy asked, thinking about a strategy of getting in and retrieving SG1 with minimal fighting.

"No, the weapons will be offline at this stage of construction; the internal shields will be activated though." Teal'c explained.

"Sweet," Faith grinned. "Zip in, get the guys then zip out, no muss no fuss."

"Sounds like a plan." Buffy agreed.

"Indeed." Teal'c nodded. "If SG1 wished to do the most damage they would head for the power core and set explosive charges, I believe our best option would be to meet them there."

"And if the ship gets a little damaged in the process, not our fault." Faith grinned.

"Or if we didn't find SG1 in time and they'd already planted the explosives, we just got them out before it blew." Buffy agreed, seeing the size of the ship Apophis was building she definitely didn't want it finished and used against Earth. "Let's go then."

--=/^\=-- 


	24. Chapter 24

"Oh come on," Buffy grimaced as the emerald shield around them shook under another heavy barrage of staff weapon fire. Every entrance they'd come too had been heavily guarded so far; so they'd landed and tried to sneak in, only to be cornered by a heavily armed group of Jaffa. "Faith, how you holding up?" She shouted to be heard over the constant explosions of the energy blasts against her shield that was hovering about seven feet away from her between the Jaffa and herself.

"Not good, B!" Faith shouted back, she likewise had a shield up in front of her; but hers was more of a brick wall that was being slowly eroded by the constant staff weapon fire. Teal'c was beside her, swinging his staff round his body and firing off clean shots at the enemy whenever he could. "We need to get in there!" She shouted, nodding at the cave entrance behind the Jaffa.

"Bit busy trying not to get killed here!" Buffy shouted back, grimacing as an energy bolt from one of the staff weapons flew overhead.

"We need to fight back." Teal'c said calmly, his booming voice easily carrying over the noise of the attack.

"Tell me about it." Faith muttered back, her voice muffled by the constant attack. "What do you need?"  
"Grenades." Teal'c's voice gave the answer as Faith's wall finally collapsed under the strain and multiple energy bolts started to rain down on their position as both Faith and Teal'c ran for the tree line for cover.

"Break it off B," Faith shouted as she saw Buffy's face contorted with concentration, her free hand gripping her other wrist as she tried to pour as much willpower as she could into the ring to keep her shield up. "Get to cover!" She concentrated for a minute as a replica of Teal'c's staff weapon shimmered into her hands.

"Now!" She shouted as she started firing in tandem with Teal'c, providing cover for Buffy as she ducked and weaved between the explosions from the energy blasts hitting the ground and impacting trees as she finally made it to the tree line.

"Grenades." Teal'c said again, dropping his staff as Buffy caught up to them, her eyes closed for a second as she concentrated again and a grenade belt appeared in Teal'c's hands. He quickly pulled one free, pulling the pin and throwing it towards the oncoming Jaffa, the three quickly ducked before the explosion threw dirt and rocks into the air, the screams of Jaffa echoed through the tree line as Teal'c threw more grenades into the oncoming enemy.

"There!" Faith shouted, instinct taking over for a second as a green knife appeared in her hands seconds before she threw it towards a Jaffa that was trying to sneak around to attack them from the rear. The knife found its target true and embedded itself in the Jaffa's chest before shimmering out of view as the Jaffa slumped to the ground.

"There will be more," Teal'c announced as he stepped out from the tree line, confident that he had eliminated the threat for the moment. "We should leave this area quickly."

"With ya there Teal'c." Buffy nodded, sweat was dripping from her brow as she allowed herself to relax for a moment, the forgotten grenade belt shimmering out of existence in Teal'c's hand. "Is it just me or..." Buffy started to ask.

"It's getting harder to use the rings." Faith finished off, knowing exactly what Buffy was thinking, she could feel it as she poured her willpower into the ring, it was getting harder and harder to make her thoughts manifest, it was even harder in combat to actually think about defence and attack at the same time. "I killed him." She stated in a low voice, her eyes staring at the dead Jaffa on the ground in the clearing.

"He would have done the same to you. Now, quickly," Teal'c broke up the thoughts. "We haven't much time before another patrol arrives."

"Wish Xander was here." Faith muttered as she jogged after Teal'c, sparing one last glance behind her at the dead body, the sight of it burning into her mind as Buffy following close behind her.

"Me too," Buffy muttered as they entered the cave.

--=/^\=--

"Hold up," O'Neill whispered as they came to a corner, leaning round carefully he saw two Jaffa carrying a small shipment of weapons grade naquadah, the block itself was only the size of a DVD player but even from this distance he could see the strain it was putting on the two Jaffa's arm muscles. "It takes two of them to carry that?" He whispered as Carter looked around the corner to see what he was talking about.

"Weapons grade naquadah is extremely dense sir," Carter explained. "Do you know how many naquadah generators a block that like could power?"

"Uh, no." O'Neill muttered with a shrug, watching the two Jaffa move out of view.

"A lot." Carter said, not bothering to calculate the exact numbers for him.

"I'll get it." Daniel offered.

"Sweet," O'Neill grinned. "We'll plant the C4, back here in, what, five minutes?"

"That should give us plenty of time," Carter agreed as Daniel nodded and disappeared in a blur of movement.

"That's just cool." O'Neill grinned before he took off in the same fashion, followed by Carter as the moved round the corridors of the Goa'uld ship towards the main coolant system.

"Whoah," Carter muttered as they came to a stop, her head was a bit cloudy now and she was finding it hard to concentrate, the blur of the surrounding walls as she moved so fast wasn't helping much either. "Is it hot in here?" She asked as O'Neill came to a stop beside her.

"Little bit, you alright?" He asked, looking around to check there were no Jaffa patrols in the area.

"I'll be alright," Carter said, taking her cap off and wiping her forehead. "The force shield should be somewhere around here." She muttered, walking off slowly down a corridor, her arms stretched out in front of her to feel where the force shield would be so she didn't walk straight into it.

"I'm worried about Xander." O'Neill said, seemingly out of the blue as he walked up next to Carter. "He's too young, he shouldn't be doing all... well, what he's doing."

Carter paused, actually trying to clear her head and think about what Colonel O'Neill was saying. "I don't think he's going to stop sir, he's more like you than you realize."

"What's that supposed to mean?" O'Neill asked, confused at the direction the conversation had taken.

"Well, he has the power to help people, if you were in his shoes and someone told you you were too young to fight, would you stop?" Carter posed the question, watching for a moment as O'Neill thought it over.

"Guess not." O'Neill muttered. "It's just... he should be in high school, having fun, not worrying about aliens and demons and all that."

"It's his life sir." Carter pointed out, jumping back as her hand found the force shield as it flickered across the hallway with an eerie blue glow. "Found it."

"Right, heads up." O'Neill grinned as he took a few steps back and then blurred through the shield as fast as he could. "Glad that worked." He muttered as he came to a stop on the other side, turning round he nodded to Carter who joined him with a blur of speed. "Whoa!" He gasped, looking up at the immense cooling structure that seemed to go up as far as the eye could see, carrying large pipes and a soft pool of blue liquid ripped under the walkway they were currently stood on. "They don't do anything small, do they?"

"This chamber supplies coolant to the entire ship sir, once we blow this, we have maybe ten minutes before the entire ship goes." Carter explained, pulling several C4 charges out of her backpack.

"Set the charges, five minutes." O'Neill said, pulling three C4 charges out of his own pack.

"That gives us fifteen minutes to get back to the gate." Carter said with a nod as she set the timers.

"Whatever," O'Neill muttered, taking off with a blur to plant the charges around what looked to be vital systems and pipes.

--=/^\=--

"This way." Teal'c said as he led Buffy and Faith through the winding golden corridors of the Goa'uld ship.

"Not loving the decor," Buffy muttered, glancing at the heavy gold inlay on the walls surround them.

"Just screams tacky, evil overlord." Faith grinned as they ducked round a corridor to keep out of sight as a Jaffa patrol passed by a corridor ahead of them, their heavy boots signifying their presence long before they were in view. "Guess the alien's don't have Jimmy Choo's." Faith grinned as Buffy stifled a giggle, while Teal'c just looked on at the two stoically.

"We should head this way," Teal'c said, nodding down a corridor to his left. "It will most likely lead us to the main coolant chamber where we will find Colonel O'Neill and the others."

"Right behind ya, T." Faith said with a nod as Teal'c moved off down the corridor quietly.

"You alright?" Buffy whispered to Faith as they both moved through the corridors as quietly as they could, both of them keeping their eyes sharp for any alien activity.

"It's just..." Faith faltered as she tried to put her feelings into words. "I killed that man."

"He would not have hesitated to kill you." Teal'c said, announcing the fact that his hearing was better than most peoples, if not on slayer levels. "You did the right thing, take comfort in that Slayer Faith."

"Doesn't really help T." Faith muttered with a shrug as they passed round another corner where two Jaffa were lying on the floor unconscious. "What gives?" Faith asked as she crouched down to see in the two aliens were dead or alive.

"I am unsure," Teal'c answered as he looked at the unconscious Jaffa before looking around the area in case there were any clues as to what happened here. "I believe we are on the right level however, as it is more than likely that Colonel O'Neill and the rest of the team are responsible for this situation."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed as she stared down at the aliens, they didn't look that different from humans now that she had a chance to look at them up close when she wasn't fighting for her life. "They can't be far then."

"Indeed." Teal'c agreed as he motioned for them to carry on through the corridors.

--=/^\=--

Xander frowned to himself as he walked through the park, he knew where he was going but his mind was racing at a hundred miles an hour with thoughts of what he was going to say, how he was going to do this properly. He couldn't just show up and blurt everything out of the blue, that was just asking for trouble. It had to be done subtly and in a way that wouldn't get him or Jack into trouble.

After spending some time on the outskirts of the solar system he realised that he needed to do this, taking his frustrations out on some harmless asteroids helped for a while but it just brought his real feelings to the surface. Ever since he had had a proper talk with Jack about what happened and why he had ended up in Sunnydale with his 'parents' he had wondered about this.

Of course Jack wouldn't understand, well he would, but he would insist on being there and that would just make everything even more uncomfortable for everyone involved, especially as this needed to be done delicately. Given that he wasn't the most delicate of people when it came to the social niceties, something he had definitely inherited from Jack, he thought it best if he did this alone, that way he couldn't blame anyone else if he screwed this up.

He took a final deep breath as he walked up the gravel path to the old house, admiring the well tended gardens for a second before he realized he was just putting off the inevitable and forced himself to take the final few steps towards the front door before rapping his knuckles on it loudly.

As he heard someone walking towards the door from inside the building he frowned, thinking about what he was wearing, jeans and t-shirt. Was this sort of thing acceptable for the meeting that was about to happen he wondered, should he have worn a suit or brought a gift. He vaguely toyed with the idea of just running, or teleporting out so that he could just do it another time, sometime when he was more prepared, some time when he was more ready for what was about to happen.

As the door opened his breath caught in his throat as the woman pulled it aside to look at him. She was a bit shorter than he was, with short blonde hair and dark hazel eyes. "Can I help you?" She asked with a smile.

"Um, yeah, Sara O'Neill?" He asked hesitantly, hoping to get this right. He knew who she was of course, a quick scan with his powers certified the fact.

"Yes," She stated wearily. "What can I do for you?"

"Sorry," He grinned bashfully. "Xander, I know this might be a bit weird..." He started with a grin as he introduced himself.

"Alexander?" She asked breathlessly as she looked at him, her quiet affirmation catching him off guard as he just looked at her and nodded. "How... but..."

"It's complicated." He smiled at her as he thrust his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "I just... I don't know, wanted to talk or something..." He trailed off as he saw her looking him up and down, almost appraising him.

"Jack..." She started before rubbing her face with her hands and shaking her head. "Does... does Jack know you're here? Does he know?"

Xander shook his head slowly. "No, he's not the most subtle person, besides; I wanted to do this myself."

"But he... he knows?" She asked, still holding onto the door where Xander could see her hand gripping it so tightly her knuckles were turning white.

"He knows," Xander nodded slowly. "I just... look, I don't know, I just wanted to talk... this was a mistake... I'm sorry." He shook his head softly, damning himself for doing this so quickly without thinking it through first. As he turned to walk back down the path he felt a hand on his shoulder, holding him softly in place as Sara came out of the house and stood on the step behind him.

"Don't go..." she said softly as he turned round to look at her. She had the same hazel eyes as he did, a soft chocolate brown. "How... how long?"

"It took years," Xander said quickly as he tried to think up ways to get around this. He knew what she was asking, how long it had taken him to find her and Jack, but he couldn't tell her how he really did it. She'd never understand it only took him a few minutes to track down a genetic match using his powers.

"I can imagine, Jack isn't the easiest person to find if he doesn't want to be..." She trailed off, obviously painful memories coming to the surface. "Did he... did he tell you about Charlie?" She almost choked on the words; it had been over eighteen years now but the pain of losing her first son hadn't lessened.

"He told me," Xander said softly. "I'm sorry."

She nodded slowly before pulling Xander into a tight hug and finally letting the tears come as he held on to her only son, the son that Jack had convinced her to give up, the son that had finally made his own way back to her. "Why... why did you come?" She asked, pulling away from him and wiping her eyes dry, not wanting to ruin this first moment with her son with tears.

"I... I don't know," Xander answered honestly, he didn't to be honest. He just felt like this was something he had to do, having Jack back as his father was great, but there was still something missing. He knew Jack and Sara were divorced, Jack had told him that much, but there was still so much to be said and he just wanted to be here, just to talk to Sara.

"Do... do you want a drink or anything?" She asked, stepping back and motioning hesitantly for him to follow her inside the house.

"That'd be nice," He smiled at her before following her through and closing the front door behind him.

--=/^\=--

"Daniel?" Buffy said breathlessly as she stopped dead as she came round a corner to see a body lying on the floor, his glasses were lying a few feet from his head where he had fallen and there was a large duffle bag lying next to him.

"Doctor J?" Faith asked as she jogged over and checked his pulse. "He's alive, barely, guy's burning up!" She stated to Teal'c as she felt his forehead.

"Alien dodah's come off as well," Buffy noted as she walked over and picked up the arm band and threw it away from his body.

"We must hurry, Jaffa patrol this corridor regularly." Teal'c informed them as he handed his staff to Buffy and scooped Daniel up in his arms, carrying the smaller man easily as the two slayers watched.

"Take him back to the 'gate, we'll get the rest of them." Buffy said firmly as Teal'c looked at her for a moment before nodding while Faith reached down and pocketed Daniel's glasses from where they had fallen.

"I'll bring it back T," Faith grinned as she hefted the staff and tested its weight. "What's in the bag?" She asked as she watched Teal'c move silently away from them back towards the exit.

"Dunno," Buffy shrugged, picking up the bag and testing it for weight. "Guess it's important to Daniel though," Throwing the bag over her shoulder she quickly adjusted the straps to tighten around her smaller frame before looking at the T-junction ahead of them. "Left or right?" She asked as they both walked slowly down the corridor.

"Left!" They both said at the same time as they turned to hear what sounded like a sci-fi ray gun going off further away from them. They both shared a grin, smiling at each other's uniforms as their rings both glowed reflecting their anticipation of the coming battle. The grin still held on their faces as they jogged down the corridor towards the sound of fighting where they could now hear gun fire along with the strange alien sounded weapons.

--=/^\=--

"Wh... what do... do you wa... want?" The bank clerk stuttered out in fear as he watched the man stalk towards him.

"Oh, a bit of this, a bit of that," The man in the mask smirked, his English accent making his voice even more threatening than the tone that was dripping with malice. "And chaos, and fear," He grinned, baring his teeth as he brought his fist up to show the ring that was perched on his middle finger. "We can't forget chaos!" He shouted as the ring burst into life, golden creatures and demons shimmering out of nowhere around the bank clerk as the customers screamed and started running for the doors.

"Do... don't hurt me..." The clerk stammered out as he watched the man stalk towards him.

The man didn't reply however, he just bared his teeth in a fearsome grin as he continued to walk through the crowd. He got right up in the clerks face before responding with a smirk as he placed his hand on the clerks shoulder. "Are you afraid of a little chaos?" He whispered in the man's ear before pushing him back against the wall and holding his fist out towards the clerk.

The last thing the clerk ever saw was a bright golden flash as the wall crumbled around him and creatures from his nightmares started crawling out of the rubble.


	25. Chapter 25

"So..." Sara started in a vain attempt to start a conversation. "How's school?" She asked, trying to broach on a subject that she knew would be safe ground for a little while at least before the awkward questions started.

"Alright," Xander smiled as he relaxed on the cream leather sofa with a can of soda in his hand. So far the meeting had gone alright, a few uncomfortable silences were to be expected but he knew Sara must have just as many questions for him as he did for her. "I'm doing well in art," He grinned. "I might have a shot at an internship in New York next year sometime."

"Wow," Sara smiled over at him. "I did some painting when I was younger, nothing amazing though."

"I mainly do fantasy work, you know, zombies, vampires, aliens, the usual." He smirked at Sara laughed at his subject choice.

"A nice escape from reality then?" She smiled at him as she took a sip of her own soda.

"Just a bit," He shook his head in amusement, if only she knew. "What about you then? Jack never told me what you did or anything."

"I teach," She smiled at him. "Just at the local school, Math and English."

"Huh, the two subjects I really don't get on with," Xander muttered, his brain running through conversation choices to head towards after the talk with school was over, anything safe and normal was a good bet.

"I enjoy it, we can't all have jobs in the Air Force looking at Deep Space Radar Telemetry," She smiled as Xander nearly choked on his soda. "You alright?" she asked, concerned as Xander continued to splutter soda and cough.

"Yeah," Xander patted his chest lightly to clear his windpipe. "Jack told me about that, sounds a bit boring to me." He grinned as he tried to imagine Jack behind a desk doing paperwork all day, the thought alone would bore him to tears and he was reasonably sure that Jack was the same.

--=/^\=--

"Duck!" Faith shouted just before she let loose with another blast of energy from the ring that impacted the floor beneath the four Jaffa that were currently making their way towards SG1.

"Hey, watch what you're doing with that thing," Jack groused as he shielded himself from the debris that was thrown up by the explosion while trying to keep the Jaffa on the other side of the room in his sights.

"Grateful aren't you," Buffy grinned over at him while concentrating through the ring to create a bubble around Sam and Jack, Sam already looked shaky on her legs and was having trouble holding her P90 for anything longer than a couple of bursts at a time, Jack just looked like he'd just finished a four day Simpsons marathon without food or sleep but he was holding up better than Sam. "Just hold on, we'll get you out of here." She waited for the inevitable argument from Jack but was surprised when he just nodded tiredly in response. "Faith, you got a plan for getting us out of here?" Buffy shouted over, turning round just in time to see Faith using her ring to create long tendrils of energy that were simply snatching the staff weapons away from the attacking Jaffa and throwing them around.

"Me?" Faith shouted back, desperately trying to keep her concentration on the constructs so they wouldn't falter. "You're the plan girl; I'm just here to hit things." She then grimaced as she saw another large group of Jaffa coming out of the corridor they had come down where they grouped together and started firing into the clearing that was now strewn with unconscious Jaffa and rubble.

"Can't go that way then," Buffy said quietly while concentrating on keeping the shield around Jack and Sam. Quickly looking around the room she was tempted to swear when she found out that was the only way in and out of the large room they were in.

"Two minutes," Jack shouted at her, she turned to see him knelt down inside the bubble she had created and pressing his hands against the glowing green shield. "The C4," He took a deep breath before continuing. "It'll go up in one minute and fifty."

"Great," Buffy grumbled, turning to Faith who was still fighting with the Jaffa and keeping them away from SG1. She obviously hadn't heard but was still using the ring to create various whip like constructs to disarm the attacking aliens before throwing them back down the corridor. "Faith, we gotta go, like now!"

"Ready when you are B!" Faith shouted back as she aimed the ring at the ground in front of the Jaffa and shot out a stream of energy that blasted into the ground throwing rubble and shrapnel into the air to cover her as she quickly ran back to where Buffy was stood. "What's the plan then?"

"Up." Buffy said simply before turning to make sure Jack and Sam were still safe within the bubble. Sam was practically unconscious from exhaustion while Jack was simply slumped against the shield wall and watching them both with tired eyes.

"Works for me," Faith grinned. "I'll clear the way, you follow with them." Faith nodded to Buffy who nodded back in acceptance of the plan. Back in Sunnydale, Faith had been the better flyer of them, there was no jealousy in that strangely, Faith had just been better and flying and using the ring for other things in flight, Xander had explained it as the way her brain worked in contrast to the way Buffy's brain worked. While Faith was better at doing several things at once, Buffy was better at quick reactions and using the ring for defensive constructs, it was just the way they thought and reacted.

"Ok, let's go then." Buffy said with a soft smile and she watched Faith start flying slowly upwards, the rings telltale green glow enveloping her as she flew up through the large room.

"Straight up?" Faith shouted back down as she slowed for a moment to allow Buffy to catch up as she dragged the bubble behind her.

"Quickest way I can think of," Buffy shouted back.

"Works for me," Faith grinned back before stopping in the air for a moment and simply hovering as she aimed her ring up and let loose a blast of energy that rained down metal, crystal and other bits of the ships construction as the energy tore straight through the ceiling, creating a large hole as it continued up.

"Go Faith," Buffy whispered after whistling at the destruction that was still going on as the energy kept heading upwards, effectively burrowing through the entire ship going straight up.

"I got to get me one of those," Jack whispered from inside the bubble where he was slumped back and watching the show from safety.

Buffy just grinned as Faith flew straight through the hole, her fist still aimed up and tunnelling through the various levels of the ship as she flew upwards faster and faster. "Ask Xander," Buffy said with a grin as she concentrated on transmitting her voice from inside her shield to inside the shield holding Jack and Sam. "Santa might come early this year."

All she heard was a snort of laughter before the laughter turned into coughing and wheezing then turning slowly into laboured breathing. "You alright back there?" She asked as they passed through the hole and up into the tunnel Faith was creating.

"Peachy," Jack's grumpy voice came back. "Only a minute until the ship goes up, think those rings can handle that?"

"How big a bang we talking about?" Buffy shot back as she started moving faster up the tunnel.

"Big," Jack answered after a moment, there was a pause before he continued. "Very big."

"Great," Buffy muttered as she poured on some extra speed. "Faith, hurry it up, we've got about a minute until the ship goes up!" She shouted, confident that Faith could hear her through the rings.

"Great, any more pressure you want to add?" Faith's voice came back through the ring, as clear as if she was stood right next to her.

"Yeah," Buffy whispered back, pausing for a second to make sure she was blocking her voice from being heard inside the bubble that was following them. "Xander's dad, I think he needs to get to a hospital or something, like now."

"What... what's wrong?" Faith's voice came back with more than a hint of worry in the tone.

"I don't know," Buffy said back quietly. "I'm no doc, but it doesn't sound good."

Faith didn't respond, another explosion sounded above them and another rain of ship components signalled they were passing through another level, and another, as Faith sped up Buffy did too and soon she were moving faster and faster through the ship.

"We're not going to make it," Buffy whispered getting ready to focus all of her will on holding the shield around her and the bubble around Jack and Sam in place.

"Screw this," Faith shouted back through the ring. "Hold on!"

Buffy barely had time to react as an emerald shield came down and enveloped her before swooping round and securing the bubble behind her. "Faith, what..." Buffy tried to ask before she felt the inertia catch up with her. "What..." She screamed out, concentrating for a second and latching her shield onto the one outside to keep her secure.

"Just hold on!" Faith shouted back, forgoing the blast now she was just using her shield to punch through the levels of the ship, moving faster and faster the levels were becoming almost a blur now as she dragged Buffy and SG1 upwards. "Just hold on..." She whispered again and she closed her eyes and focused purely on speed and the shields, wrapping the torpedo like shield around with another layer, and another as she continued to drag them upwards.

A loud explosion signalled their time was up, the sound reached them barely a second before the light of the blast lit up the tunnel behind them, Buffy barely had time to glance behind them to see the torrent of fire blasting its way up behind them before they were enveloped, the blast spurring them on as the flames licked around the shield and lighting everything up.

--=/^\=--

"It was nice meeting you anyway," Xander said simply as he stood in the doorway with Sara, there was a tension in the air as if they both didn't know what to say. They'd both been talking for a good hour or so, mostly mundane things like work and school, catching up on the past and talking about Jack mostly, safe subjects that Xander tried to keep to, away from anything that could lead her to finding anything about what he really did, or what Jack did.

"Definitely," Sara said with a smile, brushing away the beginnings of tears. "Will... will you come again?"

"You can bet on it," Xander grinned. He was just happy that she wanted to see him again, after growing up with Tony and Jessica as his parents he had an image of what he thought parents were like, Willow's parents were never around growing up so that just reinforced his image. Buffy and Joyce had shaken it slightly but then added to it when he found out about Buffy's dad and how he had treated them both. Now he had both Jack and Sara who were both proud of him and both wanted to see him, the thought of parents that not only wanted to see him and be with him, but actually cared about what he did and his life, that was something new, something he was definitely going to hold onto as tight as he could. "I'll be around; you've got my number so just call any time."

Sara simply nodded, holding the scrap of paper in her hand that had her son's number on it. He'd explained he was living with someone else, a Mr Giles and his girlfriend, but all she could think about was the fact that her son was alive and he wanted to see her again. That thought alone was bringing her close to tears of joy after all these years. "Do... do you need a lift or anything?"

"Nah, I'm good," Xander explained, not wanting to say anything more, he'd come this far without lying to her and wanted to keep it up, he'd been evasive about a few things, but this was something he wanted to keep as open as possible, and flat out lying to someone who cared about him, that was something he was forcing himself not to do. He'd had enough lies back in Sunnydale, lies had coloured his entire past. Now he was away from all of that, it was time to start fresh, time to start things as he meant to go on. "I'm staying with Jack for a bit so..."

"Right," Sara said solemnly, just another reminder that he had been with Jack before he had even thought about finding anymore about her.

"Just call sometime, I'll try and pop round if I'm around alright?" Xander said, sensing her discomfort over what he had said.

"Alright," Sara forced a smile on her face before embracing Xander in a tight hug. "Thank you," She whispered before letting the tears run down her cheek.

"Shh," Xander whispered back, holding her tightly before she pulled away. "I've got to go, long trip." He smiled as she nodded back. "I'll be around though," He mentally berated himself for saying the same thing over and over but wanted to reinforce the fact that he did want to see her again and would definitely be calling round again.

Sara just nodded as she watched him step out of the doorway into the sun. "I'll call you," She said with a smile as she watched him take a few steps down the path leading to her garden gate.

"I'll hold you to that," Xander grinned back as he jogged down the stone path and practically vaulted over the small wooden gate. He sent a sloppy salute back to the house as he started walking down the road and smirked as she returned it with a smile before closing the door slowly. "Just one more stop," Xander said softly as he took a calming breath before thrusting his hands into his pockets and turned down a street after looking at the signpost.

--=/^\=--

"Offworld activation!" Siler shouted into the microphone as the red lights around the SGC started flashing. The gate was already spinning and locking in the chevrons to signal an inbound wormhole as General Hammond jogged down the stairs into the control room.

"SG1?" Hammond asked as he made his way quickly over to the control panel where Sgt Siler was awaiting the IDC to come through.

"No identification yet sir," Siler reported. "It could be one of the girls that went through with Teal'c though, they didn't have GDO's of their own and if they got separated from Teal'c they wouldn't have access to one."

Hammond just nodded silently at this information, procedure dictated that without a valid IDC the iris was to remain shut to prevent a foothold situation, but the thought of one of Xander's girls coming through the gate without the iris open was at the forefront of his mind now.

"Sir, receiving an IDC, its SG1" Siler reported with a smile.

"Open the gate son," Hammond said quickly with a smile as Siler pressed his hand onto the iris control panel and watched the iris retract into its casing. "It's about time," He whispered as he walked away from the control room and made his way down into the main gateroom.

"Medical staff to the gateroom!" Siler's voice echoed through the base as Hammond increased his pace to a run as he made his way into the gateroom, the thought of one of Xander's girls being injured was now spurring him on, he'd already seen Xander's temper when Anise had been scanning the girl, god knows what he would be like if one of they had been hurt or worse by the Goa'uld.

"Teal'c, what happened out there?" Hammond practically shouted has he ran into the gate room mere seconds before the emergency medical team came in from the other side. "Where are Buffy and Faith?" He continued as he watched Teal'c lift the limp body of Doctor Jackson onto the waiting medical gurney.

"We located DanielJackson in the ship, he was already unconscious," Teal'c explained stoically. "Slayer Faith and Slayer Buffy continued on to locate JackO'Neill and Colonel Carter while I returned her with DanielJackson."

"Are they alright?" Hammond asked, knowing full well the lecture he would be receiving from Jack when he returned about allowing children into a war zone.

"They were fine," Teal'c said simply. "Request permission to return to the planet to assist Slayer Faith and Slayer Buffy in retrieving SG1."

"Granted," Hammond said simply before turning to the control room. "Dial it up."

"Sir," Siler nodded back down at Hammond before dialling the address that Teal'c had just come from.

Teal'c nodded simply at General Hammond before moving to the far wall where the emergency armoury was housed in a large metal locker, opening it quickly he retrieved a staff weapon and Zan'nika'tel before returning to stand by General Hammond.

"God speed son," Hammond said simply as the sixth chevron locked in place. "Bring them home safe."

Teal'c just nodded in response as he turned to the gate and readied himself to get back in the battle.

"Chevron Seven will not lock." Siler's voice came over as the seventh chevron simply powered down instead of locking in place.

"Dial again!" Hammond shouted up where Siler was typing furiously. "Get that gate open, we've got Jack and Sam out there with two of..." He paused for a moment, remembering he wasn't in a secure area. "Ion's girls, we need that gate working."

"Working on it sir," Siler reported back as the gate started spinning again.

They all watched as the gate ran normally to the sixth chevron before simply powering down on the seventh. "Chevron seven refuses to lock sir."

"Run a diagnostic and try again," Hammond shouted back before turning to Teal'c. "Sorry son, looks like the rescue will have to wait."

Teal'c nodded silently at General Hammond before turning to the Stargate and regarding it quietly, the only reason he knew of why the gate wouldn't lock on to a known address was if the Stargate on the other side was been destroyed or was inactive for some reason. Neither of those scenarios boded well for the team that was still stuck on the other side. "I will wait here," He said simply, causing General Hammond to smile in response.

"I'll keep you appraised son," Hammond replied before he made his way back to the control room.

--=/^\=--

A golden blast sent the car flying off the road and into a nearby house where it exploded in a fiery ball of destruction, sending debris all around as the man holding the yellow ring moved through the town, smirking at the destruction and chaos in his path he simply walked on, ignoring the screams of the innocent coming from within the house.

Another blast sent another car sailing into a park where it simply embedded itself in the dirt before the flames started licking around the grass where the petrol was leaking.

"Now, this is chaos!" The man shouted, sending another blast on energy into a house where it tore through the structure like a hot knife through butter. A simple golden shield protected him from the flying debris as two police cars pulled up in front of him. "Only two?" He smirked through the shield. "Why I'm almost insulted," He grinned manically as he swept his hand out in front of him in an arc, a golden construct of a dragon reared up in front of him as he watched it tear through the cars and throw the occupants around before rearing back and incinerating the black and white vehicles in a blast of fiery destruction.

"Hardly a challenge at all," He smirked before taking to the air as the dragon construct faded back into the ether. He paused in the air and laughed at the sight of the burning town beneath him, the sun rising behind him made the red glow of the fires even more impressive and he gazed down at the chaos. "Chaos, as ever, I am thy degenerate son." He whispered before breaking out in laughter and swooping down over the town before flying off to the west with constructs of demons and dragons glittering gold in the morning sun following him.

He knew exactly where he was heading, it had taken him months to recreate the spell he had used in Sunnydale, everything had to be perfect, the potion, the inscriptions, the chaos, it all had to be there to invoke Janus' blessing. At last it had worked, the costume of the character had been so hard to find, an original golden ring had been even harder but it was all his now, a ring that fed on fear, a ring that could be charged on fear and chaos alone, a golden ring to oppose the emerald god now in Sunnydale. He would tear the power out of the boy and watch as Ripper and the slayer's town would burn. He would have the power, he would become a true god of chaos, and the world would burn in fear.

His eyes reflected the manic personality of the ring; the golden sparks flew from his shield as he burned through the sky towards the west coast. His eyes glinting with gold in the morning sun as it rose behind him. The power would be his and the world would know true chaos, and the fear of the world would elevate him even further.

--=/^\=--

Xander just sat there on the grass, the headstone of the grave in front of him signalled the loss he had never known. His brother, Charlie O'Neill, the grave was well kept and looked like it was visited regularly if the fresh flowers that had been laid on the headstone were any indication.

"I'm sorry," Xander said simply as he brushed a few loose leaves off of the grave, instinctively he knew he had nothing to be sorry about but he wished he had known, he wished he could do something, anything to alleviate the sense of loss he felt whenever Jack or Sara mentioned Charlie.

Graves weren't for the dead; Giles had always said that, the graves were put there for the living, so they had something to remember the dead by, so they had something to talk to. The grave was now just another constant reminder of the family that he was now only just beginning to feel part of.

He ran his finger around the O of O'Neill slowly and tried to picture what his life would have been like if he had known Charlie. "So young," He whispered as he took note of the date, barely six months before he had been born. Charlie would have been twenty five now, an older brother for him.

He shook his head as he stood up, laying his hand on the headstone once more as he bowed his head in respect. "I wish I could have known you," he said quietly as he created a permanent construct of a tulip and laid it next to the fresh flowers on the grave, it took a bit more concentration to make a construct permanent, but for something like this, it was worth it.

--=/^\=--

"That was close," Faith whispered as she moved herself down next to Buffy, they were both hovering in the atmosphere now watching the explosions below on the planet, the main explosion had caught up with them through the tunnel they were flying up and forced them even faster like a Champaign cork flying out, the eventual force of the blast had sent them flying out of the atmosphere where only Faith's control of the ring had managed to keep them near the planet instead of flying off into space.

"Ya think?" Buffy grinned over at her through the green shields before she turned back to check on Jack and Sam, they were both unconscious now but seemed to be breathing alright, despite the fact that they were actually hanging in space on the edge of a planet's atmosphere.

"We made it, that's what counts." Faith shot back with a smile.

"Yeah," Buffy conceded the point as she nodded down to the fiery blasts that were still happening on the planet below. "Didn't think it would be that bigger bang though."

"Me neither," Faith said quietly as she watched an even bigger explosion happen on the continent where they had flown up from. "How long do you think until it'll be safe to go back down?"

"Dunno," Buffy said softly. "Doesn't look good."

"Well we kinda need to go back down," Faith explained. "I ain't got a clue where we are and the Stargate's our only ride back to earth."

"Right," Buffy nodded, not having thought about that before. "I'll wake the guys up, they might know what to do." She moved herself over to the bubble that was holding Jack and Sam before creating a larger bubble around the three of them before dissolving the one holding them separate. "Hey, wake up, come on." She muttered slapping Jack lightly on the face. "Need some help here guys."

"Wha... what is it?" Jack muttered as he slowly regained consciousness.

"You alright?" Buffy asked, waving her hand slowly in front of his face to make sure he was conscious and alert.

"I'm fine," He groused as he shakily got to his feet. "Carter, wake up," He knelt back down quickly and began to shake the blonde form of his 2IC softly to wake her up. "Where the hell are we?" He asked grumpily as he looked back up at Buffy.

"Same planet we found you on," Faith answered from outside the shield. "Only about two hundred miles up." She smirked as Jack went wide eyed before looking down at the planet beneath them.

"Right, flying without a plane, that's new." He muttered, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs as he tried to get a grip on the situation again. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us," Buffy said simply. "We found you guys, then the big bang happened and up here was the safest place, still is by the look of things." She nodded to the planet below where they could all see the explosions that were still going on; even from this height the blasts were visible.

"Ok, that was only C4, shouldn't have been that much of a bang." Jack explained as he shook Carter awake. "Come on Sam, we need a scientist here." He paused before turning to Buffy. "Are we safe up here?"

"Looks like it," Buffy responded with a shrug. "Don't ask me how we're breathing or anything though because I ain't got a clue."

"The shields do it," Faith butted in. "Xan said the shields create oxygen for us as well as keep the warmth in, as long at the ring is working then we're safe."

"As long as the ring is working?" Jack shot back with a raised eyebrow.

"Well we've never been this far away from Xander before," Faith explained with a shrug. "He's like a battery for the rings, the way he explained it was the rings are like light bulbs, as long as they're connected to a power supply they work, but take them away and the only have a certain amount of juice left."

"And you didn't think of this before we ended up in space?" Jack smirked back as he stood up helping Carter get to her feet shakily. "How much 'juice' have you got left then?" He asked as he lent against the shield and forced himself not to look down at the planet below.

"Um..." Faith shrugged as she looked at the ring. "Ring, what's your power level?"

"Power level at twelve percent." The ring responded causing everyone to turn at look at Faith's ring.

"Aw crap," Faith whistled. "Not good."

"What's my power level?" Buffy asked, bringing her ring up for everyone to look at.

"Power level at eighteen percent." Buffy's ring responded causing her to go wide eyed at the ring.

"Definitely not good," Jack shook his head, now they had another problem on their hands, having power like the rings gave was definitely a step up for Earth, but if the rings fell into the wrong hands or if Apophis managed to hotwire them somehow... the thought didn't even bare thinking about.

"Where are we?" Sam asked as she looked around, obviously trying to get her bearings like Jack had done.

"Outer atmosphere of Apophis' planet," Jack said with a grin. "Seems the boom was a bit bigger than we intended."

Sam's eyes went wide at this information as she looked down at the planet below. "The armbands..."

"Down there," Buffy said simply. "Want to go get them?" She smirked as Sam just shook her head silently in response.

"The explosion shouldn't have been that big, the reactor of the ship was... oh god," She paused turning to Jack. "The reactor was housed in Naquada, we should have seen that."

"For the people that don't speak science," Faith motioned for her to continue.

"Naquada is the stuff the gate's made out of, put it with a bomb and you get a bigger bang." Jack explained.

"How big?" Buffy asked, her eyes immediately going to the planet below where the explosions were still going on.

"Big," Sam explained in one word, "If the explosion was big enough, it could have hit the Stargate, if that exploded then... big."

"Right, worst case scenario, we're stuck out here without a Stargate." Jack summed it up for everyone.

"So where's the nearest planet with another Gate we can use?" Faith asked, wanting to know every escape option she had before making a plan.

"I have no idea," Sam said simply. "It could be light years away, maybe more, without a Stargate or a ship, we're stuck here."

"Great," Buffy muttered quietly as she sank down onto the floor of her shield. "Any more bad news?"

"I think that sums it up," Jack said with a grin. "So, we need a Stargate or a ship, can those rings help with that?"

Buffy just turned to look at Faith before shrugging, they only had limited power between them, and something as big as a spaceship was nothing they had ever tried before, let alone a working one that could get them back to earth.

"I wouldn't know where to start," Faith was the first one to speak, breaking the silence with her voice that spoke of defeat.

"I don't think we've got the power for a space ship, let alone a Stargate." Buffy explained. "Little things yes, a space ship? We'd need Xander for that."

"Right, that's that plan out the window then. Tell you what, let's take a closer look at the planet first, maybe the gate was just buried or something, we clean it up then head home, how does that sound?" Jack grinned when everyone nodded. "Ok campers; take us back to the planet. The sooner we get down there the less power the rings are using on the shields. Time to see what's the what." He paused as Buffy stood back up and nodded firmly at him. "Engage." He grinned over at her as she started moving the bubble back down through the atmosphere of the planet.

--=/^\=--

"Sir," Siler announced his presence as he knocked on the door of General Hammond's office.

"Yes, what is it?" Hammond asked as he put down the paperwork he had been working on he was now forcing himself to do anything that would keep his mind off what could have happened on the planet with SG1, Buffy and Faith.

"We've finished the gate diagnostic run sir, everything appears to be working. As a test run we contacted the Alpha site successfully, it appears we are only unable to connect to P4X-992." Siler explained the findings quickly.

"So the Gate on the other side has been disabled somehow." Hammond mused as he tried to rack his brain for a solution to this matter. "Thank you, that will be all." He dismissed Siler before picking up the phone on his desk and dialling the third programmed number. "General Hammond for SpaceCOM." He announced as the other side picked up the phone. "We'll need that ship sooner than expected."

--=/^\=--

Xander simply sat in the cemetery on a bench enjoying the sunlight, it was rare for him to have some peace and quiet like this so he was taking the time to actually mediate and think back to all the things that had changed in the past year or so. Ever since he had received these powers things had started to get better, his family, his friends, finding he could help protect the people he cared about instead of sitting on the sidelines and watching people get hurt.

Now he could actually make a difference as long as he kept in control, that was the worst thing about these powers, as the thought of Kendra kept reminding him, if he lost control, even for an instant, people he cared about could be hurt or worse. It always came down to a trade off for him, he wanted to do the right thing, to fix everything, but he had to leave room for everyone to make their own choices, to make their own mistakes, if he took the choices away from people then he was no better than any other dictator.

Giles had explained this to him many times over now, that he was now here just to keep the peace so to speak, while it was now his battle against the vampires, demons and aliens, he couldn't do it alone, he had to let humanity make its own way.

That was the bit that Giles' had said that hurt the most, he didn't show it at the time but he knew what Giles was saying was right, it was just the way he worded things now, whether it was intentional or not, he was outside of humanity now, something new, something else. Did that make him better than humanity or just a caretaker for the planet he grew up on; those were the thoughts that continually bombarded him as he tried to sleep at nights now.

The problem was that he was still trying to find his own place in the world, the vampires and demons, they were Buffy and Faith's territory, the slayers were built to handle these sort of things and using his power to dust a vampire was so overkill it was the equivalent of using a nuclear bomb to remove an ant hill. The same could be said with the aliens and his dad, space, the Stargate's, all of that, they were his dad's area of expertise, his dad along with SG1, they could handle things up there, they had done for the past god knows how many years, so where did that leave him.

It just felt like he was continually searching to find his place, to find somewhere he could fight the good fight, but every time he thought he'd found something it came up short. So here he was, just meditating, allowing humanity to get on with their lives in peace. He stepped in from time to time, but now it was just them, he was actually forcing himself not to monitor everything that was happening, forcing himself to concentrate just on him, just on where he was and what was happening around him.

The leaves falling off the tree's all around him, the grass growing underneath his feet, the hundred or so various insects and birds that were living in the graveyard, the cat that was silently prowling around the long grass in the shadowed area, these were the things that he was concentrating on. As Giles had told him, concentrate on the small things and everything else will take care of itself, he hoped that was the case.

Occasionally his thoughts drifted back to Sara, his mother, and the conversation they had just had, all the things that had been said, all the time they had lost. He'd make up for it, maybe he'd manage to bring Sara and Jack closer together, but not yet, now he had to get to know her on his own, and for her to get to know him without his powers. Everyone else he cared about knew about him and he could see it in their eyes, how they treated him, like they knew he could do all these amazing things and were just thinking about what he could do for them. It wasn't always like that though, it was just distracting knowing that everyone knew about him and were constantly on edge because of it. Sara was the exception, she didn't expect anything from him, she just wanted him to be himself, no godly expectations of keeping the planet safe or keeping the forces of darkness at bay, no thoughts about him protecting the slayer or keeping his dad and SG1 safe. She just wanted him to be him, her son, and that was the best thing in the world for him at the moment, it kept him grounded, reminded him that even though he had all these powers he was still someone's son, at least someone still thought of him as human.

--=/^\=--

"Over there!" Sam pointed out as Buffy carried the bubble down to the planet and swooped over the fires towards where she was pointing. "That's where the Stargate was, I'm sure of it."

"You're sure Carter?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow as they moved closer to the area she was pointing at.

"Whoa..." Faith was the first to verbalise the amazement as she passed over the ridge of dirt and rubble ahead of Buffy. "Not good." She muttered as she looked down, there definitely wasn't a Stargate here anymore; there wasn't much of anything there anymore. The entire valley looked like once giant scorched crater with various smaller pits around it that were still smouldering with small fires.

"Guess the Stargate blew as well then." Buffy said in a small voice as she moved them through the skies to the centre of the crater, as they moved closer to the middle they could all see the ground was smoothened to an almost glassy surface, there was no life here, no trees, no grass, no sign of anything hospitable. The air outside was still thick with smoke and dust that almost obscured the twin suns that the planet was orbiting.

"That would be my guess," Jack replied breathlessly as he looked at the level of destruction that was all around them. "Carter? Any more ideas?"

Sam simply looked at him before shaking her head. "I'm sorry sir, but without an active Stargate we're stuck here."

"I'm putting us down, hold on." Buffy said calmly as she moved to the centre of the crater and set the bubble containing Jack and Sam down gently before dissolving it and setting down herself and getting rid of her own shield. "We still need to conserve power, especially if the bad guys come back."

"Good idea B," Faith nodded as she settled on the ground behind Buffy and took her own shield down. "Do we have any plan? I mean, aside from waiting here and growing old I mean?"

"No supplies, no shelter, no communications. We don't have much in the way of anything." Sam explained.

"What about this?" Buffy asked, taking off the backpack that she had picked up from Daniel's unconscious body and dropped it on the floor with a bang. "Feels pretty heavy so I guess it isn't food and stuff."

"Naquada," Sam explained as she opened the backpack to take a look inside, "Weapons grade, we use it in reactors as a power source."

"Great, so we have a ton of useless metal and not much else." Faith sunk to the floor and tried to get comfortable. "Any other ideas?"

"We wait," Jack said smugly. "Hammond knows where we are and he must have tried dialling the gate by now. He'll figure out the gate was destroyed and send someone to investigate."

"The ship Xander gave us!" Carter finally latched on to Jack's idea. "They have the coordinates for this planet and a working mothership with hyper drive."

"So we can expect a rescue then?" Buffy asked, latching on to any faint glimmer of hope. "'Cause that would be of the good."

"Sure thing," Jack grinned. "I'm guessing General Hammond already notified SpaceCOM of the situation and what's happened, it'll just be a matter of time before the ship gets here."

"How long then?" Faith asked in amusement, already planning on finding some nice sunny beach on the other side of the planet to wait for the rescue.

"Carter?" Jack asked as he came up blank on the calculations needed to figure out the distance of this planet to earth and how fast the mothership could travel in hyperspace.

"I..." Sam paused as she tried to figure it out. "Maybe a week sir," She finally answered after a few minutes of silence. "Five days if they really push the engines. We're quite a way into the main core of the galaxy sir, deep inside Apophis' territory, or what used to be Sokar's territory. Even with a rescue coming we should expect Apophis to send someone to figure out what happened to his ship."

"Great," Buffy muttered as she sank down next to Faith. "A week..."

"Look on the bright side B, no school." Faith grinned over at her.

"Can't you two just contact Xander or something, you know, use the rings as a phone or something." Jack asked, pointing at the ring that Buffy was now considering.

"Um..." Buffy shrugged turning to Faith. "I've never used it like that, how did you use it before?"

"Just asked it to call you," Faith shrugged as she lifted up the ring and considered it. "Think it'll work?"

"Sir, the power it would take to transmit audio from here back to earth, especially a real time conversation would be staggering, I'd recommend waiting for the rescue ship to arrive and use the ring's power only as a last resort in case we have more Goa'uld trouble. The rings are currently the only weapons we have." Sam voiced her opinion as Jack looked thoughtfully at the two girls that were now holding the most powerful weapons he had ever seen.

"Agreed," Jack nodded as he thought the situation though fully, getting home with Xander's help would definitely be easier than hanging around for a week or so, but then if it didn't work then they would be stuck deep in enemy territory without any way to defend themselves. "We'll hold up here and wait for rescue."

"Can we at least find somewhere more comfortable then?" Faith complained as she stood up and dusted herself off. "A little beach, fresh water, you know, the little things." She grinned as Jack nodded at her.

"It would be a good idea to move away from this area sir," Carter explained. "If Apophis does send someone to investigate, they'll certainly look around the most damaged areas first for an explanation as to what happened."

"Yeah," Jack nodded thoughtfully. "We'll also need food and clean water," He immediately ran down a list of everything they would need, thankful that black op's missions in the past had trained him for situations like this. "Ok, stow the gear, we'll head west as most of the destruction seems to be towards the east."

"Agreed sir," Carter nodded, thinking back to the destruction she had seen on the planet's surface as Buffy had brought them down through the atmosphere. "I thought I saw a river maybe fifty or so miles away, if we hurry we could make it before nightfall."

"Sounds like a plan," Faith nodded as she stood up and slug the backpack over her shoulders, ignoring the wide eyed looks that Jack and Sam were giving her. "Guessing we're walking then." She grinned as Jack nodded silently at her. "Let's go then."

Without another word she started moving off in the direction Sam had pointed, Jack and Sam following close behind with Buffy taking up the rear. Climbing out of the crater would be quite an effort, especially without the rings or any specialised climbing gear, at least they could use the rings for little things, Faith thought. Just nothing major in case they actually needed the rings to defend themselves.

--=/^\=--

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Ethan shouted as he sent another golden blast of energy into the school in front of him, tearing straight through one of the walls and causing small explosions to shatter the windows around him.

He'd been in Sunnydale for nearly an hour now and so far no one had come to oppose him, no sight of that damned Ion character or the Slayer. No Ripper or anyone, just chaos and fear spreading all around him.

"Come on!" He shouted as he raised himself up and sent another blast into the school, pointless destruction was fun and had its place in creating chaos, but it was no fun without someone to watch or opposed him, of course, once he had ripped the power out of Ion and taken the mantle for himself, there would be no one left to oppose him, chaos would reign supreme and he would be the god of chaos itself.

"Ethan." The word carried through the air with so much power it caused him to spin in the air and glare down at the person responsible, it hadn't been a shout, just the tone in which his name had been spoken that filled the word with malice.

"Ripper, like the new look?" He grinned as he span in the air, showing the area in golden sparks of energy. He could see Ripper stood there with three others, but none of them were the teenager than he had given the Ion costume to. "Where's Ion?" He asked as he lowered himself to the ground. "Tell me and I'll leave the town standing."

"Not here," Giles said firmly. "You shouldn't have come back." He said with a smirk, his eyes sparkling in a manner that said that he knew something Ethan didn't.

"Yeah, well, I didn't want you to feel like I was ignoring you," He laughed as he saw the two teenagers shrink back behind Ripper and the woman. "Where's the slayer then?"

"Away from you," Giles said, stepping forward and moving his hand away from where it had been placed on the woman's arm. "What happened to you Ethan, you were never the sort for this level of destruction."

"People change Ripper," Ethan smirked down. "Can't you feel it, the fear, the chaos, it's all around, this town stinks of it, the fear is embedded in the ground, saturating everything. This town was built on fear, you know it, and I can see it."

"Not anymore," Giles said firmly. "Now it's built on hope."

"Hope?" Ethan laughed. "Is that your defence?"

"No," The woman stepped forwards. "I am." She said firmly as she walked forwards away from the rest of the group.

"I'm sorry; I didn't get your name?" Ethan stated politely as he moved himself down to hover in front of the brunette that was now glaring at him.

"I'm surprised you don't remember me," She said calmly as she walked closer to him. "You're the one that sold me the costume; you're the one that turned me into this."

"Costume?" Ethan muttered, taken aback by this new information, he'd sold plenty of costumes that night but she didn't stand out as anyone that had bought anything of significance from him. "And you got the memories of the night, how charming." He smirked as he looked back to see Giles and the two teenagers practically laughing at him. "What's so funny?" He spat over at them as he turned his attention from the brunette.

"Oh you're so going to get your ass kicked," The redhead said with a smile and a hint of a giggle as the male teen stood beside her, nodding mutely.

"What?" He spat back, confused as to what she thought she could actually do to him while he was wearing the ring he had enchanted. Whatever his next thought was going to be was immediately swept from his mind as the brunette moved in a blur almost faster than he could see and caught him in the chest with a punch than felt like he had been hit by a Mack truck.

The punch landed squarely on target and sent Ethan flying backwards into a house, his shield protecting him from the damage as the force of the punch punched him clean though the house and out into the garden behind where he was almost embedded in the soil.

"Giles, get out of here, you two too!" Jenny ordered as she took to the skies, the golden sparks coming from behind the house immediately told her that the fight wasn't over by a long shot. "Get Xander," She shouted as she saw them start to move away from the battle zone. "Tell him there's another..." She didn't get to see anymore as a golden blast of energy punched her out of the sky and blasted her away from the group, the sheer force of the blast pushing her several blocks over from where she had started.

"Willow, what ring is that?" Giles asked as he ran for cover, pushing Willow and Oz in front of him to protect them from the carnage going on.

"It's... it's a yellow ring, Sinestro's ring. It twists people... the fear, it gets inside them..." Willow stuttered out, her eyes showing the fear that the very idea of the yellow ring on earth created. "We have to get Xander, Ms Calendar can't handle this."

"It's equal to the rings Xander gave Buffy and Faith then?" Giles asked as he craned his neck upwards to see if he could see the fighting still going on.

"Uhuh," Willow nodded as she ducked into an alcove with Oz. "It's weird though, it runs on fear not willpower," Willow shook her head, obviously trying to remember things from the comics. "Sinestro had one; he was Green Lantern's nemesis, well, one of the Green Lantern's anyway."

"The one Xander turned into I assume?" Giles asked, wincing as he heard another explosion coming from a few streets over.

"No," Willow crouched down as the building they were hiding next to shook from the force of the explosions happening. "Another one, Hal Jordan, he was supposed to be the greatest Green Lantern. The yellow ring charges itself by fighting a green lantern, without it it only has a set charge."

"So he wants to charge the ring off of Xander," Giles mused.

"With the charge he could get off Xander, he'd be..." Willow was cut off by the building behind her shaking violently, another loud explosion caught their attention as something was thrown into the building followed by another golden blast the practically destroyed the wall they were standing by.

By the time they had run for cover the entire street was lit up with a sickly golden energy that seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. Giles was the first one to spot the man standing in the middle of the street, his form glowing brightly with the same yellow light, a construct of a rack was laid out in front of him with Jenny's unconscious body on it.

"Jenny," Giles gasped out as he noticed her limp form, he'd been so used to her being invulnerable, with so many people telling him that she couldn't be hurt by anything, and now to see her lying on the glowing yellow rack, the sickly yellow glow of the ropes holding her in place as blood dripped from her face and stomach through her torn clothing.

Willow and Oz stared open mouthed at the special as Ethan pointed at Giles before motioning for him to come and join him in the street.

"Giles don't..." Willow whispered as Giles started walking slowly into the light. "It's a trap!" She whispered again more forcefully.

"My dear," Ethan shouted back with a smirk. "Of course it's a trap."

Giles barely had time to duck the two giant circular saw blades that were sent flying in his direction; he hit the ground with a force that nearly knocked the wind out of him. He laid there, waiting for the blades to come back and finish him off, fervent prayers for Xander to come and help in the battle and worry for Jenny were the only things running through his mind as he heard Willow's scream.

He rolled over just in time to see the two blades fix on their new target and blast towards the two teens before exploding into the ground with a sickening thud that spoke of finality.

"And now, we are alone." Ethan said calmly as he started walking towards Giles, he waved his hand and a giant glowing yellow spike appeared above Jenny, hanging for a moment before speeding down and impaling her through the stomach and pinning her to the ground. As he walked closer his golden ring sent out sparks of energy from his shield which scattered on the asphalt below, his eyes glowing with golden malice as he stepped closer to his target.

"Jenny... Willow..." Giles whispered as he looked over at the scene of destruction around him, tears already rolling down his cheek at the sight of his lover pinned to the road barely thirty feet away from him.

"Now that's fear!" Ethan shouted as he raised his arm and pointed the ring at Giles.


	26. Chapter 26

"Oh come on," Buffy whined as she pulled the backpack back onto her shoulder for what felt like the umpteenth time. She suppressed a growl as the rucksack started to slip down her arm again before she jostled it with her shoulder to pull it back straight.

"Want me to take it for a bit?" Faith asked as she stopped and lent by a tree that creaked under the pressure. they'd made it out of the blast radius pretty easily, making good time between their slayer stamina and the air force guys training.

"I'm good," Buffy replied shortly as she pulled a rag of clothing from her pocket, a strip of one of her favourite shirts that was now torn beyond repair due to an accident climbing up the crater wall. Wiping the rag across her face she paused to take a look around, Jack and Sam were at the front, leading the way through the dense forest while they took the rear.

It'd been just over four hours now, no sign of any Goa'uld ships in orbit or Death Gliders swooping the area. No sign of Jaffa investigating the rubble of what was once their prize ship, just blackened trees and scorched grassland. The scorching was visibly less now though, the blackened sides of the trees where the Naquada enhanced explosion had levelled most of the area were now becoming less frequent. They'd made it out of the blast zone in the first hour, but then discovered that the damage caused by the explosion wasn't solely limited to the crater.

"We should keep moving," Jack called back after he stopped for a moment, the trip had been pretty rough on them all, without food or water rations they were all limited to what they could find in the surrounding environment, and he was sad to say that the two young girls were definitely faring better than him and Sam were.

"Hold on gramps," Faith shouted with a smirk as Buffy adjusted the bag again before jostling it on her shoulders again to get it comfy. "Good B?" She asked, waiting for Buffy to nod in return before they both started off towards Jack and Sam.

"We need to keep moving," Sam commented as they all started off again once the two slayers had caught up. "The blast radius ends about a kilometre up ahead, once we get beyond that line the radiation will drop significantly."

"Say what?" Faith practically shouted. "You never said anything about radiation, what are we talking about here? Hair falling out? Nasty skin things?"

As Faith continued ticking off things both Jack and Sam could see Buffy looking more and more panic stricken, going from running her hands through her hair quickly to agitatedly checking her arms for lesions or any other visible marks.

"Not if we get out of here," Jack said, cutting Faith off.

"He's right," Sam agreed. "The radiation should have mostly dissipated by now, there may be some lingering effects closer to ground zero, but the further we get out of the radius, the safer we'll be."

"What are we hanging around for then?" Faith barked out as she practically grabbed the bag off of Buffy and slung it over her own shoulder. "Let's get the hell out of here before we start glowing." She didn't even wait for a response from anyone before she took off in the direction they were heading at a speed that Jack couldn't dream of matching, even in his younger days. Buffy followed her barely seconds later, her face still showing the worry over her hair and skin, and the worry spurring her on to even greater speeds than Faith.

"How the hell does Xander keep up with them?" Jack asked after a moment as he started jogging after the two slayers alongside Sam.

"No idea sir," Sam replied with a smirk as she batted a vine out of her way that Jack had simply ducked under, "No idea." She whispered again in amazement as she saw the two girls finally disappear from view into the thick undergrowth of the jungle.

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"I'm afraid that's just not possible at this moment in time," General Hammond sighed as the voice over the phone repeated the line for the second time, despite his rank and official request to use the Goa'uld mothership to find out what had happened to SG1. "We still haven't figured out the controls on the ship, and the scientists on board are still trying to figure out the sensor readings, for some reason they just all lit up like a Christmas tree about half an hour ago."

"Listen here son," General Hammond paused to take a calming breath as he held the receiver of the phone tightly in his grasp. "Some of my best people are trapped on an alien world deep in Apophis' territory, now, I want to get them home as soon as possible, you can either help me or by god I'll go directly to the commander in chief and get his approval for this rescue mission." He paused again for another breath, flexing his fingers as he noticed he was gripping the receiver to tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"One second sir," The voice returned for a moment before the line went to complete static, leaving General Hammond the distinct feeling that he was being passed up the food chain.

"Come on..." General Hammond muttered as he held the receiver, waiting for the next voice. the thoughts of what Jack and Sam, not to mention the two girls that had gone to save them, were going through were making him more anxious by the second. he'd briefly thought about contacting Xander for his assistance in retrieving SG1 and the two girls, but quickly discarded the thought after remembering how Xander had reacted to Anise during her stay. He didn't want Xander to have the impression that they would be running to him all the time for simple things, and more to the point, he didn't want to be the one that sent Xander to an alien world to find his two girls injured or worse.

"General Hammond, sir," A familiar voice returned to the receiver, breaking him out of his thoughts so fast that it took him a moment to place the voice.

"Major Davis," General Hammond smiled as he finally recognised the voice, he knew that the current liaison between the SGC and the higher ups was working on something that had kept him away from the SGC, but he didn't think it was anything to do with the Goa'uld mothership they had captured. "I didn't realize you were on board the Goa'uld mothership."

"I've been here for nearly two weeks sir," Major Davis reported in his usual crisp fashion. "We stationed the mothership just outside of Mars orbit so that the Stargate on board wouldn't override the one at the SGC, but until we get a flight crew trained for this ship, the senate thought it best to have a liaison on board who could had knowledge of both alien and human practices. I was selected because of the previous work with Stargate Command."

"And I'm sure you're doing a fine job son," Hammond smiled as he thanked the gods that there was someone there that he could trust to be on his side for all of this. "Now, can we dispense with formalities and go pick up SG1?"

"I'm afraid not sir," Major Davis replied crisply with a tone of regret in his voice. "We're currently receiving information on a dangerous energy build up on Earth, the Goa'uld sensors are trying to pin it down, but so far we're having trouble translating the data."

"What sort of energy build up?" Hammond asked, SG1's current predicament pushed to the back for the moment as a more immediate thread took precedent.

"Unknown sir," Davis reported. "The energy is unlike anything in the Goa'uld database, we're currently tracking the source to somewhere in southern California, we can't narrow it down any more than that."

"Southern California?" Hammond repeated as his thoughts immediately went to Xander. "I'll see what my sources can tell me."

"Sources?" Major Davis repeated in a curious tone, he wasn't aware of any ties the SGC had to any military bases in California, in fact, the only one he was away of was an NID operation currently under construction, but they didn't even have the power generators online yet, certainly nothing capable of generating the amount of power that was being picked up by the ships sensors.

"I'll let you know as soon as I do," Hammond said abruptly before hanging up the phone. He took a deep breath before pulling the soft emerald green phone towards him and picking up the receiver. "Xander?" He started in a clear voice.

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"Tell me... Where... He... Is!" Ethan screamed out, punctuating each word by sending another bout of electricity through the bonds he was now using to hold Giles tightly in the air. his body buckled against the bonds as he screamed into the night, but the sound of his torment only served to tighten the smirk on Ethan's lips.

"I... don't know," Giles finally rasped out ones the shocks had stopped, his hair was now matted to his face with sweat and his ragged clothes were practically hanging from his body. "And even if I knew," He lifted his head up if a final act of defiance and glared at his tormentor. "I would never tell you!" He spat the last words out, a feeling of victory rushing through his body as he saw Ethan's face scrunch up with anger. "Pillock." He muttered with a smile as Ethan raised his ring again.

"You will tell me!" Ethan screamed as he used his ring to raise the bars holding Giles captive into the air, levitating himself up along with Giles so he could continue to look him in the face. "And where is your precious Slayer now? Your charge? Now it's just you and me Ripper, Sunnydale has fallen," He made a point of rotating himself around in the air to view the destruction of the town for himself, fires were still burning wildly out of control, the emergency services trapped by glowing gold constructs of dragons, demons and other such horrors brought forth from Ethan's fear twisted mind. "I will have his power, and then the world will know true chaos!" He turned back to Giles, a twisted smirk marring his face as golden energy flickered around his manic eyes.

"You can't win," Giles rasped out, his breathing becoming more laboured as he forced himself to stay conscious. From this height he could see where the two saw blades had impacted the ground, he could see the destruction they had left with cement and gravel torn up along with dirt and grass, and he could see two bodies lying on the floor, a dark almost black pool surrounding them.

"Your two students," Ethan smirked as he waved his hand out towards them. "He couldn't save them either, or your lover," His words brought back a tight face of resolve to mask over Giles' pain as he looked over towards Jenny's immobile body, the golden spike still embedded through her stomach, pinning her to the ground like some macabre street sign. "How many more people have to die Ripper? How many bodies will it take for him to intervene?" He span Giles around again, revelling in the destruction he had caused in the town, the fear that was growing throughout the entire population feeding him even now. "Or have you taught him too much?"

Giles slumped his head down in resignation as Ethan sent another charge through the bonds holding him, his body arching and writhing around.

"Is that it? Has he become just another puppet of The Council?" Ethan bellowed the words out but his tone was coloured in disbelief. "Are they holding his leash? The old edicts still in place, watch but never interfere in a Slayer's duties, is that what you're teaching him?" He spat the last at Giles in disdain.

"You always did talk too much Ethan," Giles spat back, the face of resolve now firmly set as he glared over into the crazed eyes of his captor. "Xander will stop you, and when he does, I'll be there to finish it."

"No Ripper, you won't," Ethan said, a tone of almost regret slipped in as he raised his ring one final time, an almost disinterested flick of his hand sent the bonds holding Giles flying wildly over Sunnydale. "You never could stomach true chaos." He said sadly as he turned his back on the glowing gold construct before dissolving it and letting the inertia carry Giles off to his final destination.

center--=/^\=--/center

Xander frowned as he walked through the graveyard, his thoughts diving from one train to another, the thought of his dead brother, the brother he never knew, the brother that was buried on the other side of the graveyard. Thoughts about his mother, his real mother, the teacher, the one with the most normal life out of his entire family. could she ever accept him, really accept what he was now? or what Giles right, was he even human anymore? he still thought of himself as human, part of the human race, but he was something more now, there was no denying that, he was something else as well.

He pressed on, concentrating on his body, ignoring everything else around him, reality was far from structured as far as he was concerned, he could see the atoms bonding the grass together, the molecules that created the bark on the trees, it was beautiful to watch, then beyond that, the subatomic, and further down. It was all just energy, ready to be manipulated and twisted into whatever form needed, it was perfect, he could just get lost in the swirls of colour if he allowed himself to, but not now, now his brain was deliberately blocking the details out, letting him focus on his thoughts.

looking around for a moment to check he was alone, he smiled to himself softly before launching himself into the air in a blast of emerald energy, the trail he left behind streaking straight up into the clouds as he soared into the lower atmosphere. here he just paused, hanging in the air surrounded by a soft green glow. he could see the entire city from here, hell, the entire state. all those people, oblivious to the dangers all around them, oblivious to the supernatural threats that lurked in the night all around them, oblivious to the dangers from beyond the stars.

His mind drifted back to what General Hammond had said to him, just do what you can, the rest will take care of itself. He'd done the best he could, keeping earth safe, keeping Buffy and Faith safe. they could take care of the supernatural, with the rings he had given them, he had ensured both slayers would have a long life to do whatever they wanted. and SG1, his father and his team, they could take care of the threats from above, from the way his father had described it, they had already been doing fine for well over four years before he'd even met his father.

So where did that leave him? just to watch, step in if he was needed? or was there something else, something else he could be doing to help, some other place to find for himself.

he was forcefully broken out of his musings when he felt the familiar sensation of someone trying to contact him, it took less than a picosecond for him to identify who and transfer the voice directly into his mind.

"Xander?" General Hammond's voice came clearly through despite the distance or means of connection.

"General," Xander smiled as he relaxed in the air, General Hammond had become more than a friend lately, with his help in figuring out what to do with the Green Lantern ring in his possession, the same type of ring that Buffy and Faith now wielded, he was more like an uncle figure, a trusted advisor. "What's up?"

"Xander," General Hammond repeated as he tried to word this as delicately as he could. "We may have a problem."

"Problem?" Xander straightened up tightly as all sorts of thoughts filtered through his brain, was his dad alright? was there another alien attack? "What sort of problem?"

"The Goa'uld ship, the one you handed to us," General Hammond took a moment to take a deep breath. "It's been picking up some strange readings from you."

"Me?" Xander quipped, using his powers to check himself over to make sure he wasn't doing anything subconsciously again. "Don't think so, I haven't really been doing much lately."

"Well, the sensor data has pointed to an extremely dangerous amount of energy being discharged, and you're the only one I can think of with that amount of power at their disposal." General Hammond explained how he had come to this conclusion, drawing a concerned look from Xander.

"It's not from me," Xander said firmly. "I've been with my mom most of the day, then... just walking." He hesitated over telling General Hammond about visiting his brothers grave, deciding on keeping it to himself for the moment, no need to risk it getting back to his father and opening old wounds.

"Are you saying you're not in Sunnydale then son?" General Hammond's voice nearly broke with panic as he tried to put the pieces together.

"The readings were from Sunnydale?" Xander said in shock. "I'll check it out," He said before closing the connection and launching himself towards Sunnydale, he was barely outside the city limits of Colorado Springs when he broke Mach One, Mach four as he passed into Utah, the air scorching in his wake as he pushed himself up to Mach 8 as he blasted over Flagstaff towards Los Angeles, Mach 11 as he raced around Long Beach and over the water towards Sunnydale, his speed pulling up a wake of water behind him as he sped over the ocean towards Sunnydale, the town getting closer and closer, the details of the destruction becoming more and more visible as the burning fires lit up the darkened town.

Slowing himself down considerably he pulled himself to a stop in the air, hovering above Sunnydale, a look of horror on his face as he saw the destruction, then he almost dropped out of the air in shock, down below he could see a fire truck, the occupants pale with terror as a glowing gold dragon batted the truck around like it was a toy.

"What the hell," He muttered in shock as instinct took over, dropping himself down to the ground he fired a well aimed blast at the dragon, cautious to aim it to that if it was just an illusion he would pass clean through without impacting the fire truck or any surrounding buildings. The aim was true however as he burnt into the dragon's stomach causing it to disappear in a flicker of golden energy.

Whipped his costume up around him in a blaze of emerald fire, complete with mask this time, he walked confidently towards the fire truck, a quick scan of the truck showed no serious damage as he lifted it up in a field of green energy and placed it neatly on the road. "Are you all alright?" He asked, cautious to keep his voice from breaking as he smiled at the men inside the truck.

When they just nodded mutely he walked over and opened the door slowly. "Is everyone alright in there?" To this he finally got a muted response of "Yeah," coupled with people nodding their heads slowly, their eyes still gripped with fear as they stared at him.

"I'm here to help," He said firmly. "Get to the fires, I'll do what I can to help out."

Three of the men seemed mollified by this but were still staring at him in shock. "The... The school," One of the men said, his voice still shaky after everything he had seen. "They're all around the school, some guy, he's doing it... somehow."

"Thanks," Xander said firmly as he shut the door and turned to face the direction of the school. "Yellow constructs..." He paused as he lifted himself into the air. "Sinestro," He said finally as his brain tried to work out how the comic character had made it into reality, had someone else dressed as Sinestro that Halloween night? but then why hadn't he seen anything before, glowing gold constructs were even harder to miss than his green ones, but then where?

His train of thought was cut off as his eyes caught something moving through the air, something flying over the town shining with a sickly yellow. "Sinestro," He narrowed his eyes as he took off towards the object, he'd sort out the how's and why's later, first he had to stop this madness, and then he had to worry about all the people that had seen him. "So much for a low profile," he muttered as he approached the flying construct, he was barely half a mile away when the golden shimmer simply disappeared, leaving a man flying through the air uncontrollably heading towards one of the few buildings that had been so far undamaged.

"Oh god," He shouted in shock as his brain caught up with what he was seeing and identified the flying body, it was Giles, his clothes torn and bloody and his hair ragged and drenched with sweat. "Hold on G-man!" He shouted as he put a burst of speed on, creating a construct of a fishing net as he went he quickly stretched the construct to enormous proportions as he came to a stop and simply fished Giles out of the air. "Giles, come on, what happened?" He asked, his voice close to breaking with panic as he saw the shape his mentor was in.

"Ethan," Giles broken voice managed to rasp out. "It's Ethan," He coughed loudly, a wet sickly sound that racked his body with shudders.

"Hold on G-man, I'll get you to a hospital," Xander said firmly, intent on not letting on more person die when he could help it.

"No," Giles rasped out again. "Stop him," He forced himself over to look Xander in the eye. "Stop him, you're the only one that can."

"Giles..." Xander tried to argue but was cut off once again.

"For once..." He paused, coughing again before he wiped his hand over his mouth, smearing blood and sweat over his chin and cheeks. "Do what I say and stop him before he hurts anyone else."

Xander stared at him for a long moment before nodding and lowing the net to the ground before sending it back to wherever his constructs came from. "I'll come back," Xander said firmly as he helped Giles onto a bench where he simply flopped against the wooden back. "I'll fix this." He said, gritting his teeth as he turned towards the school. "Just hold on," He said finally before he took off into the air towards the school.

"Ethan!" He bellowed, his voice carrying all the rage he could muster as he flew towards the school as fast as he could, his body now lighting up the area as emerald flames licked around his uniform, dark green sparks flashing behind him as he soared towards his target. "Ethan!" He bellowed again, his hands now crackling with energy as he forced himself on, the thought of the upcoming battle forefront in his mind as he carried himself on over destroyed houses and burning cars.

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"Alright campers, time to set up base," Jack barked out. they'd passed through the scorched area of the jungle now and after finding an area with a river running though decided that this would be the best place to camp up for the night. the dark was slowly creeping in now, making the alien environment seem that much more inhospitable but the two slayers were still taking it in their stride.

"Ok boss," Faith smirked as she snapped off a sloppy salute before dropping the holdall carrying the Naquada with a thud onto the mossy ground.

"Well, it's not a five star hotel," Buffy muttered as she looked around. "But I guess it'll do." She grinned over as Sam rolled her eyes at her.

"We'll need shelter sir, I can't be certain, but I'd be willing to bet that we're a bit further from the star of this solar system than earth is, maybe around Mars orbit." Sam explained drawing blank looks from the slayers as Jack nodded in his assessment.

"You mean stars, plural," Jack noted, nodding to the horizon where the two suns were slowly setting behind a mountain.

This time it was Sam's turn to be taken by surprise as she turned to the horizon, surely enough there were two stars slowly setting, a bright yellow star and a smaller red one. "My mistake sir, stars, it must be a binary system, that's how this planet can support a thriving ecosystem despite being so far away from the center."

"Ok, for those that don't speak scientist," Faith muttered, waiting for an explanation, she could see the two stars but aside from that, most of the other details coming from the two Air Force members were going straight over her head, a quick glance at Buffy told her that she was feeling exactly the same.

"We're further out of the solar system than earth is," Jack explained. "The two suns produce enough heat during the day for plants and wildlife, but it's going to get cold when the suns go down, very cold."

"How cold?" Buffy asked, now staring at the horizon where the yellow star was now slowly disappearing from view.

"Very cold," Jack repeated with a 'duh' look. "Below zero definitely."

"We'll need a fire, something else to keep us warm as well, BDU's are designed to protect the body in most environments," Sam explained, tugging at her black uniform. "But they won't keep all the cold out."

"Right, firewood first," Jack grinned, setting a plan into motion, years of black ops training and survival SEER courses had more than prepared him for this sort of situation. "We'll also need food, water shouldn't be a problem, and some sort of cover."

"Hunting and gathering then," Faith commented drawing a slow smile from Jack. "I'll do the hunting," She grinned. "You ok with the firewood B?"

"Done and done," Buffy smiled back.

"Then we'll get a shelter sorted," Jack nodded at Sam. "Try and stay close, we don't want to get separated here, and I don't know what sort of things will come out at night."

"Fine by me," Faith nodded, strangely accepting the leader role that Jack had set upon himself, he knew what to do and the best way to do it, so she just accepted it and followed, which was strange because it wasn't really in her nature to follow orders blindly. "Food coming up." With that said she simply jogged off into the undergrowth.

"Right, firewood," Buffy nodded, "I can do that," She grinned before following after Faith.

Firewood was pretty easy to locate thankfully, being in a jungle it was simply a matter of finding loose branches and bits for them to use. pretty soon she had amassed a large pile of wood that was dry enough to burn, a few log sized branches later and she was on her way to carry it all back to the campsite.

unfortunately, Faith wasn't having such an easy time locating something to eat for the group, any wild life that she had seen was either too small or quickly scurried out of view into some dark hidey hole away from her as soon as she had spotted it. "Ugh," Faith groaned as she missed another small rodent looking creature. "Come on, we're on an alien planet for god's sake," She grumbled looking to the sky which was getting darker by the minute. "Where's the alien life?" Bending down she fetched the makeshift spear that she had acquired on her way into the jungle, it wasn't really a spear, more like a long sturdy thin branch that she had snapped the end off of, turning it into a quite nasty looking point.

"Uh... Faith!" Faith span back up to see Buffy staring over at her, one hand carrying a hefty pile of firewood and the other pointing out to a space about three foot above her head. risking the knowledge that she really didn't want to know what had freaked out Buffy like that, she craned her neck around to see what she was staring at.

Above her was a snake, though that didn't do it justice, it was thick, probably thicker in girth that Teal'c's arms were. it had most of its body coiled around a branch but was slowly moving its head through the air towards her with an open mouth.

"I hate snakes!" Faith whispered as she stared up at the monstrous python like creature. flexing her arm she tightened her grip around the spear and slowly turned around, never taking her eyes off the slowly moving creature. She ignored the loud crash of wood, instinct taking over as the sound of quiet footsteps came from behind her, she's been working with Buffy for nearly a year now, so she was used to the sound of her breathing, the pace of the footsteps. "Ready B?" She whispered as she stared up into the eyes of the snake.

"Ready," Buffy whispered back from about two feet from her left.

risking a quick glance over she saw that Buffy has armed herself with a large branch, obviously one of the ones that she had gathered for firewood, it wasn't sharpened like the one she was holding, but it would do enough for defence. flicking her eyes back to the serpent she voiced the one thing that was worrying her. "Think it's poisonous?"

"With those fangs?" Buffy whispered back. "Don't care, but it ain't coming anywhere near me!"

"Here goes, on three," She paused as she caught Buffy nodding in her peripheral vision. "One... Two..." As she said three she lunged at the snake, her left hand quickly shooting out and grabbing the snake just behind its neck to keep it's freedom limited. Buffy was next to her barely a second later, her hand grabbing the snakes body a foot or so further down than her own. pulling on the head sharply she aimed the spear and let momentum do the rest.

"Ugh," Buffy winced as a blood splash from the snake washed up over her top and jeans. "You're getting my dry cleaning bill." She grumbled as she pulled her hand away from the snake, the momentum of Faith's yank on the snakes head had done the job quite effectively, while most of its body was still wrapped around the tree branch, it's head had been impaled on the spear, the head of the spear had gone straight into the mouth where it had been ready to strike, embedding itself about two or three feet into its neck.

"So, snake steaks for dinner," Faith grinned as she pushed the spear further in, twisting it to make sure that it was firmly embedded in the thick muscle of the snake's body.

"Yum," Buffy muttered dryly, sending a glare to Faith. "You can take that back, I'll wash up and meet you there." She nodded to the large pile of logs and branches before pulling at her clothes where they were sticking to her body with drying blood.

"Don't go too far," Faith nodded. "You heard Xander's dad, not unless you want him to come and find you taking a bath," she grinned as Buffy sent another glare her way. Grinning back to her she pulled the snake's body sharply, snapping the branch that it was wrapped around and causing it to fall to the floor with a sickening thud. "See you back there," She nodded over to where Buffy was already heading towards the river a dozen yards or so upstream from where they had set up camp.

Wrapping the snake tightly around her spear she impaled the base of the spear firmly into the ground so it could free stand while she looked at the pile of logs. "There's got to be an easier way of doing this," She muttered, looking at her ring for a second before discarding the idea, the rings were for emergency use only, while there had been no sightings of the aliens so far, that was no guarantee that there wouldn't be any before rescue came, and with limited power they had to conserve energy as much as possible. walking over to a tree she felt around the bark, smiling when her hands came across a vine that was loose enough to pull down.

Grabbing it firmly she pulled tentatively, happy when it came loose she quickly flicked it up and pulled the loose vine to the floor before walking back to the pile of logs. They were quickly tied up in a loose knot, the end of the vine trailing towards her as she wrapped it around her wrist. pulling the spear free from the floor she started back towards base camp, dragging the pile of logs and branches behind her through the jungle undergrowth.

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"What are you doing back here Ethan?" Xander asked in a firm tone of voice as he hovered in the air in front of Ethan, his emerald glow seemingly at opposites with Ethan's golden glow which encompassed their surroundings.

"A bit of chaos, a bit of fear," Ethan smirked. "Didn't Ripper tell you, or that's right, old Ripper can't tell you anything anymore."

"He's fine," Xander said firmly, causing Ethan to stare at him in surprise. "Which is more than I can say for you." Darting to the left quickly he dove out of the way of the emerald battering ram which he had posed behind him, unfortunately Ethan was more than prepared for this with a glowing golden buzz saw which cut the construct clean in half.

"Are you sure you're in the right business," Ethan shouted over, creating a dozen or so constructs of what looked like demonic flying monkey's around him before sending them soaring towards Xander. "You could rule this town, a god among men, you could rival Janus himself!"

"Well, facing down people like you does have its perks," Xander quipped as he launched several energy balls towards the flying monkey's, the clash of coloured energy flashing body sets of constructs out of existence." He grinned as Ethan covered his eyes from the flash of light before flying towards him as fast as he could and tackling him out of the air before pushing him off into a building. "Can't remember ever being at a loss for words either," He grinned as he watched Ethan stumble to his feet from the blast.

"You can't defeat me," Ethan shouted up, launching himself off the floor and into the air again. "The fear of this town, I can feel it feeding me, feeding the ring, once I've absorbed your power then I will rival Janus, and take his power for myself."

"You're crazy," Xander shook his head as he created a solid shield in front of him to block an energy blast Ethan had sent his way. "It's the ring, it's changing you," He shouted down. he could remember how the ring worked in the comics, feeding on a person's fears and twisting them. Ethan had somehow created a composite ring, a ring that was both of the yellow rings from the comics, one that fed on fear and one that fed on his own emerald power, using his own constructs to power his golden ones.

"It's released me!" Ethan shouted back, sending another energy blast towards Xander. "I can feel it, the fear, the chaos, this town is soaked in it, the mayor made sure of it!"

"Wha..." Xander started, the moment of distraction was all Ethan needed however as he sent two energy blasts at the same towards Xander, one directly aimed at the shield, the other arcing round and catching him in the side.

"You don't have the power to face me!" Ethan shouted as the energy blast sent Xander sailing into a building where his impact sent a cloud of rocks and dust into the air before tumbling to the floor. "This town feeds me, makes me stronger, you don't have the power in you to match that."

"You should have read up on the rings Ethan!" Xander shouted as he launched himself towards Ethan, catching him clean in the stomach with his shoulder, his arm wrapping tightly around Ethan's back as he gripped him tightly as they both flew straight upwards into the atmosphere. "It's not about power," He screamed as they reached the upper atmosphere, letting go of Ethan he let the momentum carry him away from his body before he pulled out a construct of a baseball bat and caught Ethan directly in the stomach with it. "It's about willpower!"

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"General," Major Davis frowned as he checked the ear piece was firmly attached to his head as he stared out the window towards Earth. With the energy build up in California getting higher and higher, they had moved the mothership closer to Earth in an attempt to fine-tune their sensors to find out exactly what they were dealing with. just as they had passed the moon the sensors had picked up another energy signature, one that made the previous one look like a Duracell batter in comparison to a nuclear power plant. "I'm not sure what is going on down there, but..." He trailed off as a bright yellow and green flash exploded in high orbit above earth. "What the hell was that?" He shouted out towards a group of technicians that were still staring at the window in awe. "I want the sensor readings for that... explosion, catalogued and in my hands in 5 minutes!" The technicians obviously knew the time for gawking was over as they all practically ran to their stations and started work.

"Major Davis, what in the nine hells is going on up there?" General Hammond bellowed over the comm line.

"I don't know sir," Davis reported back as he stared out of the window where smaller flashes of emerald green and golden yellow were still occurring just outside the atmosphere of earth. "There's been some sort of explosion, not on the ship sir, outside. there are still smaller explosions sir, some sort of energy clashing against something else."

"Energy?" General Hammond replied with a pained tone in his voice. "Major, would this energy be bright green by any chance?"

"Yes sir, one of them anyway," Davis replied, not bothering to ask how General Hammond knew that. "The other is bright yellow."

"Stand down," General Hammond ordered over the line. "I don't know about the yellow energy, but the green one is an ally."

"Ally sir?" Davis replied, his tone one of pure puzzlement. "I know all the allies of earth sir, the only ties we currently have are with the Tok'ra, and they don't have energy weapons like this. This is like nothing I've ever seen before sir."

"I'll brief you when you return planet side," Hammond explained, his tone stating that he was not willing to argue on this matter. "The emerald energy belongs to Ion, an ambassador, if he contacts you, just follow his orders as if they were my own, you got that son?"

"Loud and clear sir," Davis frowned but complied with the orders. "Should we target the yellow energy sir?"

Hammond paused over the line, he was in no position to judge what was going on up there, if they interfered they could just get in Xander's way, but then he could have taken the fight outside of earth's atmosphere because he knew that the ship was up there waiting to assist him.

"General, what are your orders?" Davis asked again.

"Use your best judgement," General Hammond replied after another pause. "Don't get in the way, but if you can help, do whatever you can."

"Will do sir, Excalibur out." Davis signed off, taking the head set off and placing it back on the communications desk before he strode over to the centre of the bridge. "Battle stations," He shouted, causing a flurry of action all around him as people made their way to their designated stations and the civilian technicians cleared the vital areas. "Shields up, approach the energy slowly, we don't want to spook him."

"Him sir?" The officer in control of the helm asked, looking around to see Major Davis' face.

"Him," Davis repeated. "The green energy belongs to an ally apparently," Davis shrugged as he could see the control officer was as confused as he was. "General Hammond's orders are to help if we can, but not to get in the way."

"Aye sir, bringing us around." The helm officer nodded as he turned back to his station.

"I hope your right George," Davis muttered as he sat down in the captains seat, the golden furnishings and red drapes long since gone. "I really do," He muttered finally before turning to the weapons console. "Weapons hot, keep a lock on the yellow energy, but do not fire unless fired upon."

"Aye sir," The weapons officer responded as he touched a few panels and they lit up in various different colours.

"Slow and steady," Davis ordered the helmsman. "Keep our distance, this energy is more powerful than anything we have on earth, you've all seen the sensor logs, keep our distance until we're asked to help."

"Sir," The helms man nodded in return. "Distance at ten thousand kilometres and holding."

"Hold here," Davis nodded. "Get whatever sensor readings you can, keep an eye on the distance, back up if they need the room."

"Aye sir, answering all stop and performing passive scan now sir," The technician to his left reported crisply before turning back to his station. "Two life signs sir, human from what I can tell."

"Get me all the information you can," Davis frowned as he tried to think what sort of alien race had this much power and was an ally to earth, the only ones that came to mind were the Asgard, but they certainly wouldn't register as human to the ships sensors. "What the hell are they?" He muttered as he leaned forwards to get a better view of the fight going on outside.

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"Think ya got enough wood there?" Jack quipped as he stopped in his quest to tie some branches together in a tent-esque nature to provide cover for the group.

"Hey, you asked for wood, you never said how much," Faith quipped back as she dropped the vine and left the pile of wood next to the campsite. "Think this'll do for food?" She asked, nodding to the spear where the large snake was now tightly wrapped around the length of wood and its tail knotted at the bottom to prevent it sliding off.

"You killed a snake," Jack said, eying the giant serpent with a raised eyebrow. "You killed a giant snake for food."

"Yeah, and the problem is?" She challenged, raising her eyebrow to match Jack's.

"Nothing," He grinned, "Works for me, Carter, snake fillet good for you?" He smirked as she rolled her eyebrows at him while concentrating on the tent. "Where's Buffy?" He asked, turning back to Faith before glancing around looking for the other Slayer.

"Went to wash up," Faith said simply. "Killing snakes is a bit messier than vamps."

"Good thing too," Jack nodded. "We want to eat it, not grit the road with it." He grinned as Faith rolled her eyes much in the same way Sam had moments earlier. "You get the fire started, we'll finish up here."

"Sure thing," Faith nodded as she pulled over a set of smaller branches from the pile. "Got any paper?" She asked, staring at Jack first and then Sam.

"Use dried leaves, then two twigs to start a fire," Jack explained before moving over to where she was sat. "This one and..." He paused, fishing out a smaller twig to use as a pivot. "This will do, just rub them as fast as you can to create friction, it should spark over to the leaves after that, don't smother it though."

"Right," Faith nodded. "And I was just going to use this," She grinned, fishing her Zippo out of her pocket. "Run out of smokes a while back though and I don't think the empty packet will be enough to catch the wood."

"Smart ass," Jack grinned at her. "Stuff it full of dried leaves, then use it to catch the smaller twigs on fire, work from there."

"Gotcha," Faith grinned as she started building a small pile of smaller twigs and dried leaves, making sure to leave a hole big enough for her to fit the empty pack of cigarettes underneath when she'd done. "Hey B, all set?" She shouted over as she saw Buffy approaching the campsite from upriver.

"Good," Jack nodded when he saw her. "We're doing the tent, Faith's dealing with the fire, you can deal with snakey over there." He pointed to the spear which was now stuck in the ground, proudly displaying the dead snake to all.

"Deal with it?" Buffy repeated, unsure as to what Jack wanted her to do with it.

"Yeah, deal with it." Jack repeated. "We can't eat it like that, so take it off the spear and cut it into manageable sizes."

"No way," Buffy shook her head violently. "I've just cleaned up, I'll do the tent, you can cut up the snake thing."

"She did help kill it sir, it's only fair." Sam explained with a small smile.

"Yeah," Faith jumped in with a smirk as she noticed Jack starting to squirm under the stare of the two women. "We killed it, you can skin it."

"Fine," Jack gave in finally. "we'll take it in turns though, tomorrow it's your turn to skin something Carter." He smirked as Sam blanched slightly. "Maybe these two can kill you a boar or something," He grinned as he fished the spear out of the ground and threw it on the floor so he could start untying the snake from it. "Or maybe some sort of big spider thing." He almost burst into laughter then as the colour drained from both Buffy and Faith.

"Spiders?" Buffy asked, her eyes flicking around the floor now agitatedly.

"Alien bugs?" Faith asked, now working even faster to build the fire but watching the wood carefully in case there were any bugs or spiders crawling about in them.

"Why not?" Jack grinned as he finished untying the snake and hefted it over his shoulder and wrapped the rest of its body around his arm so he could carry it like a loop of rope. "We've seen some pretty big bugs on planets before, flying ones, there was this bee thing one time, nearly as big as a car!"

"You're kidding!" Faith shouted out, staring at Sam for confirmation.

"Afraid not," Sam shook her head slowly. "It infected Teal'c with some sort of egg sack, it's barb was about the size of that spear." She nodded at the blood soaked spear that Jack had left on the floor.

"I hate bugs," Buffy groaned as she moved over to help Sam, Faith just stayed quiet, building her fire and setting aside some large branches to use as torches in case there were any giant flying bugs on the planet that would come out in the night.

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"You've got the power," Xander grimaced as he ducked around another energy blast Ethan sent his way before swinging round and landing a right hook which collided with Ethan's energy shield, half a second later he had a bright green construct of a wall to pin Ethan against. "You just haven't got the imagination to use it!" He shouted as he surrounded Ethan and the wall in an energy bubble.

"I'll show you!" Ethan screamed, his eyes flashing with the manic gold glow, his fists glowed with the same golden sheen for a second before the emerald bubble exploded outwards with several blasts of golden energy. "I've got enough to deal with you, and..." He broke off, his face a picture of pure shock as he looked out into the distance.

"Yeah," Xander grinned before pressing the advantage. "Them," He launched himself forward, catching Ethan off guard as he surrounded himself and Ethan in a giant energy bubble. "Unlike you, I've got friends to help." He shouted as he landed on the floor of the bubble, righting himself momentarily before pressing on and pulling Ethan into a swift knee to the stomach. "Now we do this my way, no rings," He shouted as he grabbed Ethan's fist and twisted, causing Ethan to shout out in pain. "Just me and you," He finished off as he twisted firmly causing Ethan to fall to his knees as he pulled the ring off of Ethan's finger.

"Please... wait..." Ethan gasped out. "I couldn't... it wasn't me..." He explained breathlessly as he held his other hand up in a gesture of surrender.

"I watched you," Xander said, holding the ring tightly in his hand. "It was all you, you almost destroyed Sunnydale."

"But..." Ethan started, trying to worm his arm free from Xander's grasp.

"No buts, it's over," Xander said sharply before lashing out in a fast punch to Ethan's head that caused him to fall to the floor unconscious, he held on to Ethan's fist for several seconds before letting it go and letting Ethan slump to the floor fully.

"Thanks guys," Xander waved over to the Goa'uld mothership, transmitting his image to the bridge where he could see in his mind the reactions of the people there. "He's one of mine, I've got a lot of clearing up to do though."

"Is everything ok Mr Ion?" Davis asked, a bit shocked after the image of Xander in full uniform had appeared in a pale green hologram on the bridge of the ship. "General Hammond told us to hang back unless needed."

"I'm good," Xander nodded. "Tell him thanks."

"What are you going to do with him?" Davis asked, nodding to the unconscious body next to Ion's feet.

"Don't know," Xander said slowly. "He's a terrorist, caused a lot of damage down there," He paused, nodding down to the earth.

"We could take him," Davis explained. "We've got a brig here, we'll transfer him to the SGC as soon as possible."

"That'll work," Xander said, teleporting Ethan directly to the bridge where Davis jumped back from the emerald flash of light that signalled the arrival of the unconscious body. "Keep a man on him at all times, he's dangerous, I've taken his weapon but he's still dangerous enough. Treat him like a Goa'uld, two armed guards at all times, and don't let him have anything not approved by General Hammond, doesn't matter how innocent it looks, I'll give him a list."

"Will do sir," Davis nodded over at two airmen who came over briskly and lifted Ethan's unconscious body up where they held him firm by his shoulders.

"Thanks a lot," Xander nodded at Davis as he watched the two airmen drag Ethan's body off the bridge. "I don't think I know you yet."

"No sir," Davis shook his head. "Major Paul Davis, liaison to the SGC."

"Ahh, explains a lot," Xander grinned. "Tell General Hammond I'll pop in sometime to see how you're doing, he can get in contact with me if you need anything."

"Thank you sir," Davis smiled. "Happy to be of service."

"See you around," Xander quipped before snapping off a quick salute and dissipating the image from his mind and the bridge of the ship. the smile on his face didn't last long as the memory of what Sunnydale looked like came back to his mind. "Now to fix this," He frowned as the bubble around him disappeared. he stared down at the bright yellow ring in his hand for a moment before gripping it tightly, he'd have to figure out something to do with it, somewhere to put it where it wouldn't cause any more trouble, but first he had to deal with the fallout of his battle. he took one last look at the mothership that was now moving back towards Mars orbit before he launched himself back into earth's atmosphere and aimed himself towards Sunnydale.

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	27. Chapter 27

The air in front of Xander scorched as he raced through the upper atmosphere back towards Sunnydale, the emerald glow around him lighting up the surrounding night as he broke the sound barrier on his way down.

"General Hammond," He almost shouted into his communications link as soon as the requested person picked up the 'phone' he had given them. "We're gonna need some help here."

For once General Hammond didn't bother asking questions, he simply cut straight to the chase. "What sort of help son? What happened?"

"Some nut job named Ethan Rayne; he's on board the Goa'uld mothership now, Major..." Xander paused as he tried to remember the name. "Davis is looking after him," Xander paused for another second as he dove around a plane, mentally berating himself as the plane rocked violently in his wake for a few seconds before righting itself as continuing on. "We're gonna need medical help, I don't know what else, but doctors definitely, maybe some help with... Jesus..." He couldn't believe it as he pulled himself to a stop a few miles above Sunnydale.

The fires of Sunnydale were still burning strong, several structures were completely ruined, and even though the sickly golden constructs had long since vanished, the chaos left in their wake was visible even from this altitude.

"Speak to me son, what's going on?" General Hammond asked over the link, trying to get Xander's attention back.

"Sunnydale, it's... I don't know what to say... there's fires, destruction..." Xander broke off as he couldn't even find the words to describe the destruction of the small town he had lived in all his life.

"I'll get emergency support there ASAP, just do what you can do son, we'll help with the rest." General Hammond advised him. "Just try and save who you can, medical teams should be there within the hour."

"So, just do the hero thing right?" Xander send a mirthless laugh down the line as he swung himself around to look over the other side of Sunnydale, the first thing that caught his attention was the fact that the hospital was burning badly, half of its west tower had already crumbled and looked unstable to say the least. "Gotcha, hospital first, then deal with the rest." He paused before shooting off towards the hospital, his green glow bathing Sunnydale as he came down in an arc closer to roof level. "Just get here when you can, I think we're gonna need a hell of a lot of 'plausible deniability' on this one."

"You've been seen?" General Hammond asked, putting two and two together quickly and correctly guessing that staying hidden while people were in danger wasn't something the teen was willing to do.

"You could say that," Xander grinned as he hovered in front of the hospital and created several giant green girders to hold the side of the building in place. There were dozens of people inside though, and god knows how many of them were now staring out of the window at him, a few of them, young children, were waving at him excitedly. "Yeah, cover up, I don't know how, but this is not of the good." He muttered before closing the comm. link.

Moving himself closer to the burning hospital he motioned for people to stand back, smiling when they did. "Hold on," He whispered to himself as he created a few bolts in the walls and quickly ripped out a large section of the wall before lowering it to the floor slowly.

"We need to get you people out of here," Xander announced as he floated himself inside the hospital and lowered himself to the floor in front of the gathered crowd. "The building isn't stable; I don't know how long I'll be able to hold it for."

"The... the stairs are burning," One of the nurses stepped forwards and took the lead for the crowd. "We can't get off this floor..."

"No problemo," Xander grinned, waving his hand as he concentrated on creating a giant glowing slide that twirled around a dozen times or more down the side of the hospital in a helix until it reached the floor. "Take the quick route down; once you're all down I'll start on the other floors."

"The children," The nurse broke off in a coughing fit before she waved away the smoke that was slowly filling the room. "The children's ward, its two floors up, we can't get to them."

"Great," Xander muttered before turning back to the nurse. "Organise the slide, get these people down safely, I'll get the children then take care of the rest."

"Thank you," The nurse smiled at him as quite a few of the other patients started moving forward and trying to express their gratitude.

"Whoa," Xander backed up away from the crowd, suddenly really thankful that he still had his mask and costume on protecting his identity. "Get everyone down first, there's still a lot to be done here."

With that said, he quickly took to the air again and flew out the large hole he had made; pausing in the air for a moment to look back he could see the nurse sending people down the slide slowly. Some of the younger patients had already pulled pillows and sheets from their beds to aid them in going down the slide where as others were just queuing up and waiting for the nurse to wave them down.

"Right, one floor done, a dozen or more to go." He muttered as he raised himself up and repeated the procedure on the next floor, removing a large area of the wall before floating himself through it.

* * *

"You know, this isn't as bad as it looked," Buffy smiled as she took another bite of her snake steak. They didn't have any knives or forks, but had managed to make some crude spikes for them to roast their steaks on over the open fire.

"I have to agree sir," Carter nodded in agreement with Buffy's comment. "It's sweet, very unusual for a red meat."

"Sweet meat," O'Neill quipped with a grin, he'd taken the first mouthful about an hour before anyone else, just to make sure there weren't any poisons in the body of the snake. they had discarded the head after he had decapitated it just to make sure, but the way that Faith had speared it could have pulled some of its poison from the glands and mixed them in with its blood stream. Buffy and Faith hadn't seemed that concerned about being poisoned, they'd just shrugged it off and muttered something about natural poisons not affecting a slayer; Carter on the other hand wasn't taking any chances.

"You were right," Faith muttered as she shuffled closer to the fire. "Its frickin' cold here at night." The suns had long since gone down and the night sky was now lit up with hundreds of stars flickering out in space. The shelter they had build was pretty sturdy, with the help of slayer strength they had managed to pull over some of the larger logs from the forest, logs that O'Neill had categorized as 'trees', to use in their shelter, packing the gaps with mud and leaves from the riverbed and forest, they were pretty sure the shelter would suffice for a week or so on the planet.

"Yup," O'Neill nodded as he finished off his steak and looked around at the torches they had set up around the camp to ward off any animals that would venture in while they were sleeping. The torches also served to light up the area so they could see around themselves, and they created a little ambient warmth that kept the area liveable. "We should stay away from the river at night though, no telling what comes out in there at night," He grinned before looking over at the two slayers. "So no skinny dipping while we're sleeping alright kids?"

"Spoilsport," Faith grinned back at him while Buffy blushed slightly. "So," She paused, looking around the campfire at everyone in turn. "Who's going to talk about the elephant first?"

"Elephant?" Buffy asked, puzzled at the turn in conversation. "Where? What?"

"She means, how are we going to get home." O'Neill translated for her, bringing the thought that was on everybody's minds out into the open. "We haven't got a 'gate, no ship and those rings can't do it."

"So basically, we're screwed." Faith summed up.

"Not entirely," Sam broke in. "General Hammond must have tried dialling the gate by now, we've been out of radio contact for over a day now. Standard practice would be to lock out our GDO codes and register us MIA, though with both of you with us," Sam paused, nodding to Buffy and Faith. "I believe he will send the Excalibur to investigate."

"Wait... the what now?" Buffy asked, breaking Sam's line of thought.

"The mothership Xander liberated from Apophis," O'Neill elaborated. "It was christened the Excalibur and stationed outside earth orbit for training."

"Gotcha, alien spaceship thingie where we fought the bad guys." Buffy nodded, putting it as simply as she could.

"Exactly," Sam nodded as she continued her train of thought. "The SCG has our location, and a mothership with hyperdrive. So either we can expect a rescue from the Excalibur, or General Hammond will inform Ion, sorry, Xander of our position, and he will come and investigate."

"So, either imminent rescue by the Xanman, or... how long for the ship?" Faith asked, putting it like that, they had pretty good odds on getting back to earth pretty soon.

"Five days, maybe four if the ship has left already," Sam had been going through the calculations in her head while they were building the shelter. they already knew the rough coordinates of the planet they were on, the P4X designation put it in the fourth band out from the galactic core, so factoring what they knew about Apophis' territory she could get a pretty accurate reading on where they were, and more importantly how long it would take a Goa'uld mothership to arrive at top speed. "If they have already left, and are pushing the engines, it could be a little under four day's sir, but I wouldn't like to bet on any less than that."

"So, four days on an alien planet?" Faith asked, leaning back on the ground and staring up at the unfamiliar stars in the sky. "Holiday time I think." She grinned as she interlocked her fingers behind her head and relaxed. "We've got food, shelter, water, plenty of places to burn energy off..."

"Don't forget the imminent retaliation of Apophis for destroying his ship; he could be here any day now." Sam reminded her.

"And bad guys to pummel on, it just gets better and better." Faith grinned over at her.

* * *

"I'm sorry sir, the books are simply gone." The vampire lackey muttered as he cowered in the shadows of the temporary office he had been ordered to report to after returning from the practically destroyed City Hall. "The... the main library, it's just gone sir, its rubble, nothing survived."

"Well, that is most unfortunate," The mayor leaned back in his chair and stared at the vampire while steepling his fingers. "This is not good gentlemen, they were the last copies of the Books of Ascension, and they cost a pretty penny too, let me tell you." He paused in his speech as he rose from his chair and moved around the desk to the main part of the office, barely smiling as the vampire flinched away from him as he walked across the room. "This simply will not do, I put a lot of time and money into this ascension, I will not have it ruined by a costumed do-gooder."

"We still haven't found any records of him either sir," Mr Trick said calmly from his place on the Mayor's left, comfortably leaning against the wall and watching the town burn outside. "I spoke to a few people, survivors, or they were anyway," He smiled viciously before continuing. "They all say the same thing, guy creating giant yellow dragons came down, started destroying things, another guy came in, this one glowing green, they fought before the green guy took them both straight up. Nothing's been seen since."

"Another sorcerer posing as a hero?" The mayor asked thoughtfully.

"My thought at first as well, but no, there's no residue of any magic in the area, well, nothing out of the normal for Sunnydale anyway." Mr Trick continued as the mayor waved him on. "Whatever these two guys were, it wasn't magic, though I believe the green one was the one known as the Green Death, the same one that killed Angelus and Kakistos."

"It does sound like it," The Mayor agreed. "I had heard that Angelus had taken care of that little problem for us though."

"Rumours, nothing more," Mr Trick explained. "He went underground for a bit, doing, whatever superheroes do I guess." He shrugged before continuing. "It doesn't matter, what does matter is he's back, and aside from taking down two master vampires, one older than anything else on this planet, he's also added this yellow thing to his list of victories as well."

"On the contrary, it does matter, it matters a great deal." The Mayor smiled as he moved towards his temporary desk and wiped it quickly before sitting down on it. "I want to know everything about this 'Green Death', who he is, where he came from, what he does to relax, who his friends are, what his weaknesses are. I want to know everything, especially how I can get him out of Sunnydale."

"I'll see what I can dig up," Mr Trick nodded towards the Mayor before he walked out of the room silently.

"Also, bring me The Book of Origin from my library," The Mayor smiled as Mr Trick nodded slowly at him. "It never hurts to have a backup plan, my father always taught me to be prepared, he told me that right before I sold his soul to a third circle demon." The Mayor smiled as Mr Trick closed the door behind him, leaving him alone with the vampire that had failed to retrieve the Books of Ascension. "Now, I think we need to have a little talk about failure," The mayor pushed himself off the desk and stalked across the room towards the now whimpering vampire. "And what happens to people who fail me..."

* * *

Giles grimaced again as he limped along the streets of Sunnydale, Ethan had thrown him a good distance from where the fight had started off, but the thought of getting back and doing what he could to help Jenny, Willow and Oz, if there were any survivors from Ethan's attack, spurred him on.

He reached round to grab his sides with his hand, wincing as his fingers came away slick with blood. Not too much, not enough to warrant making his way to the hospital, he'd already used his torn and bloodied shirt to bandage his wounds that needed immediate attention; the rest would have to wait.

Looking up he let out a sigh of relief as he saw Xander streak overhead, his green glow bathing the area for a minute as he shot over the town and out of eyesight. He was obviously doing what he could to help people after this attack; Giles couldn't fault him for that, putting his own secret aside to help others who needed it.

"Just do what you can," Giles whispered out towards where Xander had gone, knowing that he wouldn't hear the thoughts but it made him feel better to give the advice anyway. Bracing himself once again, he started back on his way back towards where he had last seen Jenny and Willow, his brain refusing to admit that they were dead, he could live in hope, just for a while, if he refused to think it, then he could almost convince himself that everything was going to be alright, even in this town with the fires burning all around him, he could almost convince himself of that, almost.

* * *

"Major Davis," General Hammond spoke firmly towards the monitor in the SGC control room that had been set up as a visual link between them and The Excalibur. "I want a full report on what happened up there, it's for SGC eyes only, understand?"

"Perfectly sir," Major Davis nodded sharply. "We have the man Ion delivered to us in custody; he's currently in the ships brig under constant supervision. three guards at all times on rotating four hour shifts, not to mention the Goa'uld cameras in the brig and the force shield keeping him in there, he's not going anywhere sir."

"Good, this man is under arrest for the destruction of Sunnydale California and a currently unknown number of fatalities during his attack." General Hammond glowered over the video link as Major Davis nodded in response; going slightly white at the information he had just been given.

"Sir, is there anything we can do to help?" Major Davis asked, he was used to being asked to help during these situations, fixing things, covering up leaks of alien technology, things like that. Now he was liaison between the SGC and the naval team currently manning the Excalibur, he was beginning to feel like he had been put out to pasture.

"We've got this one son," General Hammond smiled. "Emergency aid is already on its way to the affected areas, we also have reports of attacks fitting a similar description all the way from Boston all the way through to California, aid packages and a suitable cover-up story are being processed and put in place as we speak."

"Good to hear sir," Major Davis nodded again, more comfortable now that he knew everything was being taken care of back on Earth.

"With that in mind, I am extending your field commission on board the Excalibur," He smiled softly as Major Davis brought himself to attention. "Your new commission comes with rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and you are to now act as commander of the Excalibur during its training mission."

"Sir," Lieutenant Colonel Davis snapped off a salute back across the video link in pride as General Hammond returned the gesture.

"You and your team have done excellent work on the Excalibur son, and I have the utmost faith that you will complete your first mission." General Hammond smiled as Lt Col Davis looked at him wearily. "Set your computers to receive a file, codename Green Lantern."

Lt Col Davis looked away from the screen for a minute, motioning to the naval officer sat away from him to set up the necessary link. "Link established sir," He nodded as he returned his attention to the screen.

"Good, I'm transmitting the files now," General Hammond nodded across to Sgt Siler to immediately entered the command into the SGC's encrypted computers to transmit the files on a high bandwidth link directly to the Excalibur's computer system. "You should have them now, these files are of the utmost importance, read them, memorise them."

"Sir," Lt Col Davis nodded as he motioned for the files to be brought up on the main screen of the Excalibur's bridge. "Two personnel files, codenames Buffy and Faith sir, Green Lanterns of Earth?" He paused, looking at the screen again to get confirmation that this wasn't the joke he was thinking it was. He could see the images clearly, obviously taken with high resolution security camera footage, of two women, approximately seventeen to twenty years of age. one blonde, one brunette, both were wearing stylised outfits that looked like high quality leather in black and green, and both had the same insignia on the front of their outfits.

"Correct, Buffy and Faith, otherwise known as Green Lanterns, are protectors of this planet," General Hammond paused as he waited for Lt Col Davis to assimilate this information; they had come up with a pretty good cover story for Faith and Buffy, made a lot easier with Xander's help in convincing the IOA that he was an alien ambassador. With this information already in the Oversight Committee's hands, all they had to do was add amendments that Faith and Buffy had been transferred to Ion's command as his lieutenants.

"Sir, permission to speak freely." Lt Col Davis asked as he turned back from the view screen towards the communications link.

"Granted," General Hammond said, wanting to know exactly what was on Davis' mind.

"Sir, is this some sort of joke?" Lt Col Davis asked, unsure how else he could word the question to his superior officer. "Green Lantern is a comic sir, a very popular one if I remember correctly."

"You read it son?" General Hammond asked, trying for complete seriousness but unable to keep the smirk completely off his lips.

"Used to sir, now my son is an avid reader." Lt Col Davis responded. "Is this true, I mean, how is it possible?"

"I can't give you the full briefing over an unsecured line son, but it is true, Earth now has two Green Lanterns protecting it." General Hammond smiled as he saw Lt Col Davis' eyes go wide at this information. "They are capable of doing everything that the comic characters you know are capable of, which brings us back to the nature of your mission."

"Sir," Lt Col Davis couldn't suppress the smile that spread across his face at the knowledge that there were two Green Lanterns out there protecting earth, that made the fight they had just witnessed between Ion and the yellow energy seem that much more real and put it in a decent perspective for him.

"Green Lantern's Faith and Buffy are currently with two members of SG1, Colonel O'Neill and Lieutenant Carter. You already have the coordinates of the planet they are on; it is deep in enemy territory, though the cover of the Goa'uld mothership should afford you some protection." General Hammond moved on with the mission briefing he had been authorised to give, now that Sunnydale was being taken care of, and the Command in Chief had been brought up to speed on the nature of the Green Lantern's and Ambassador Ion, he had given them the go ahead for the rescue mission. "You are to take the Excalibur to P4X-992 and appraise the situation from there, if possible retrieve Colonel O'Neill, Lieutenant Carter and Green Lantern's Faith and Buffy."

"Understood sir," Major Davis nodded sharply after saluting.

"If this goes well, you could find yourself as a permanent commander of The Excalibur son," General Hammond smiled over the link, knowing full well that he had already pushed forward the idea to the Oversight Committee, it would make them feel better knowing there was an Air Force commander on board the ship, and the rest of the Governing Bodies that were in the know would be happy knowing the Air Force was now sharing the responsibility of protecting Earth with the Naval forces now manning the ship. "God speed, General Hammond out."

He let himself smile once more as the view screen cut out; turning to Sergeant Siler he smiled even more as Siler reported the Excalibur was moving away from earth before he announced that the mothership had jumped into hyperspace.

"God speed and safe journey," General Hammond muttered as he watched the screen showing the small blue dot that signified the mothership disappear from earth radar. "Bring them home safe."

* * *

Xander fought back the grimace that threatened to cross his face as he focused on the job at hand, it was nearly over now but the constant strain of forcing his will to shape reality over such a large area was definitely beginning to take its toll. The children were now safely out of the building, he glanced down and could see four, maybe five glowing green parachutes still open in the air, carrying their precious cargo down to the floor.

"Nearly there," Xander muttered as he swung himself around the building again checking for any more survivors in the hospital. The nurses had strangely been the last to leave, while the high paid doctors seemed to have vanished before he even got there. He paused, looking down again, the parachutes were now on the floor so he relaxed for a second as he dissolved the constructs and felt his concentration snap back to a semblance of normal.

It had taken him nearly two hours to evacuate everyone from the hospital, two hours with his constant will forcing the hospital to stay upright by creating large constructs of girders around the damaged hospital to keep it stable. Two hours of him creating slides, parachutes and other manner of constructs to get everyone to safety.

If anyone asked, he could blame the fires in the hospital for the sweat that was pouring down his forehead and soaking his hair, though the truth was that this was the longest he had gone with the constant use of his powers, while he was able to now make his constructs at vibrant and detailed as he could imagine, it was something else to focus on a dozen or more constructs at once, forcing them into existence and then keeping them there while he did his job.

Soaring back into the hospital he quickly flew down the corridors of the level he was on, checking for any other survivors of the attack and making sure this level was completely evacuated. This was the last one of the floors that were damaged, all the patients and staff on the floors beneath this one had been able to get out using the stairs and through the main doors and fire exits, it was only because of the structural damage that the top fourteen floors had been stranded in the burning building that was crumbling more as he worked.

"Everyone out?" He called as he flew back to the hole in the wall he had created, he was pretty confident that he had got everyone out but in situations like this there was no harm in double checking everything. When no one called back he did one final sweep, using his powers to check for any energy signature that looked out of place, any energy signature that would show signs of life. Discounting electricity, fires, the plumbing system, computer systems he paused for a moment as his eyes covered the entire floor, only then did he allow himself a brief smile as he confirmed that there was no one left on the floor.

"Ok, let's get out of here." He muttered to himself, pushing himself backwards out of the hole in the wall so he could keep an eye on the building and make sure it would stay upright until he got down to the floor and could help people there.

The nurses had been surprisingly efficient at getting people away from the building, using the stock of ambulances that were stationed outside for hospital use and any cars they could use from the parking lot, they'd even managed to set up a make shift triage in the park a block or so away from the hospital where he could see them using the cars and ambulances to light up the area as they worked on any injuries.

Xander frowned to himself as he lowered himself through the air in front of the hospital building, his green glow lighting up the surrounding area and advertising his presence to everyone. "The place is clear, I checked it all." He said calmly to the nurse who had rushed over to see him. "It's in pretty bad shape though and I can't hold it up forever you know."

"We're... we've evacuated the area," The nurse stated, looking at first like she wanted to say something else but changed her mind at the last second. "Everyone's over in the park, next block over."

"I saw," Xander nodded with a smile. "Any serious injuries?"

"Smoke inhalation, a few lacerations and contusions, nothing major." The nurse reported instantly, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to divulge patient information and was just thankful that whoever this masked 'superhero' was, he was in the area to help.

"So cuts, bruises and nothing some clean air won't clear up?" Xander grinned as he simplified it, smiling even more when the nurse shared his smile for a brief moment before nodding. "Right, I've got plenty of other places to check out, are you going to be alright here?"

"Yes," The nurse nodded after a moment. "Some of the patients who were in for small things, and a few visitors, they're helping out where they can."

"Good, help should be here soon, just try and keep everyone together," Xander frowned as he looked over at the horizon, still dark, not even a sign of dawn on the horizon yet, it was definitely going to be a long night for him. "It'd be better if you moved to a house or somewhere like that, you know, keep off the streets and someplace warm and safe."

"We'll see... I think we're ok where we are though, we've got enough blankets and cots for everyone that needs them, the ambulances and cars will help with the rest." The nurse replied, not showing any indication that she actually knew what was really out there and a threat to both her and her patients.

Xander repressed a sigh, knowing that this would just be one more group of people he'd have to watch out for tonight, keeping an eye on them would be tough while he did what he could in the town, but not impossible, not if he played this correctly. "Ok, I'll help you settle in, help out for a bit, but I've still got a lot of other places to check on." He smiled softly as the nurse nodded at him. "The hospital was one of the worst hit, aside from the town hall, which isn't really standing at all anymore from what I could see. That's where all the police and fire trucks are."

"Well, I'm glad you were here to help out." The nurse said with a soft smile as she started walking away from the hospital towards the well lit park area that was visible about a half mile or so down the road.

"Same here," Xander replied as he started walking alongside the nurse to the park area, horrified at the thought that the emergency services would go to the aid of bearcats and politicians before they would come to the aid of a hospital. "Same here."

* * *

Giles just knelt on the floor, his eyes refusing to process the horror that he could see a few feet in front of him, the yellow spike that had pinned Jenny to the floor had long since disappeared into the ether, leaving a gaping wound through her stomach which was bleeding out. Willow was knelt next to her, covered in blood, her soft pastel clothes were now a sickly black colour in the night, but he knew they would be a deep, dark red in the light.

"Giles..." Willow spoke up as soon as she noticed him, her head moving up at a slow pace as if her brain wasn't really processing what was going on her. "What... how..."

"Xander," Giles said by way of explanation as he started to move closer to her. "He stopped Ethan somehow."

"Then... then where is he? He could fix this, help her, help Oz." Willow continued in a small voice, a voice that betrayed the horrors she had seen tonight more than anything else she had seen in the past two years working with Buffy.

"I don't know," Giles said softly as he knelt back down beside her. "There's so much..." He nodded with his head to the surrounding areas and the fires he could see still burning in the distance. "He's out there somewhere, trying to fix this."

"But... but Oz, and Ms Calendar..." Willow trailed off, she couldn't even bring herself to say what had happened to Oz, they had all thought they were invincible, like nothing could touch them, and nothing could tear them apart. They were the Scoobies, with Buffy and Xander around, nothing could hurt them anymore.

"There's nothing we can do for them," Giles said softly, tears welling in his eyes as he looked down at the body of his lover. He couldn't even take her to a hospital, he just didn't know enough about her, was her physiology even human anymore, how would human drugs affect her system, could they even get them into her system. So many questions that no one had the answers to.

"Xander... he could fix this... bring them back, I know he could." Willow started calmly at first but her voice rose slowly as she spoke and he could see her resolve face setting in.

"No." Giles cut her off, his voice close to breaking as he vetoed the idea that could bring Jenny back. "He mustn't, no one can, it wouldn't be them any more Willow, surely you must know that?" He looked over at her, tears now running down his face as equally as they did down hers. "I knew someone, a lifetime ago; he tried to bring someone back, but the price, the price in unimaginably high, even for him."

"So he did it, he paid the price, I'll pay it, for Oz... Giles.... I love him." Willow's voice broke at the declaration of her feelings and the floodgates opened, sending torrents of tears down her body as she shook with either shock or sorrow.

"Shhh... I know, I know..." Giles tapered off, pulling her into a tight hug. He knew how she felt, knew how she would do anything to bring her lover back, once, long ago, he would have done the same. He would be the one begging Constantine to come over, he would be the one that would petition Osiris to let Jenny's soul back, but not now, not now that he had seen the consequence of the spell, now he would do everything in his power to stop anyone making the mistake that John had made all those years ago.

* * *

Xander paused before stepping into the medical compound that had taken over the park area; all motion seemed to stop as they noticed him approach with the nurse that had shown him the way. The walk had been filled in quiet contemplation, not an awkward silence by any stretch of the word, just a quiet with unanswered questions for the nurse and thoughts about what else he would see this night for Xander.

Everyone just stood still as they turned to see him; he figured this would be their reaction, unsure, not knowing what he was or who he was. He didn't know what they would do next, try and run him out of town, run away from him, terrified of him; half a dozen scenarios were running through his head as he walked forwards again, his hesitation barely noticed by the nurse at his side.

"Look, maybe I shouldn't..." He trailed off as he watched people slowly smile at him, a young mother was the first to approach him, her baby in her arms couldn't have been more than a year old at the most. She just walked towards him confidently, no hesitation in her strides as she came up and stopped a foot or so in front of him.

"I... We..." She stuttered out at first before blushing like a schoolgirl around her crush. "Thank you." She said simply in the end before leaning forward and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. "Thank you." She whispered again softly as she pulled back.

The crowd seemed to pick up on this and decided this was the time to say what they felt, it started slowly, a few people clapping, the sound echoing through the park, but soon others joined in and even the nurse at his side was now clapping along in gratitude for what he had done tonight.

Xander couldn't believe it; people were actually applauding him for what he had done. Out of all the reactions he had imagined, this was nowhere near what he had thought would actually happen. He expected people to forget it, to ignore him, to just repress it as they did all the other weird things that happened in Sunnydale, but here they were, cheering him and calling him a 'superhero'. He was sure the blush that filled his cheeks didn't fit well at all with his black and green outfit, but as much as he forced it down he could still feel the burning on his cheeks that told him his face was still glowing.

Xander opened his mouth several times before closing it again, doing a pretty good impression of a fish while he tried to think of something cool to say, something that people would remember, something a hero would say. In the end he just grinned, flashing one of his trademarked lopsided smiles before he lifted himself in the air, his green glow lighting up the area as he hovered above them.

"I've got a few other places to check on," He said, smiling as everyone stopped clapping to listen to what he had to say. "But I'll be back to help out later on." He grinned as people started clapping again, his blush coming back in full force now while his confidence soared to new heights. "This should help with keeping the place warm and lit up." He smiled, spreading his arms out from his body he concentrated for a few seconds, knowing exactly what he wanted to do and forcing his imagination and will to shape it.

A few people stepped back from the glowing poles that appeared around the park instinctively before staring up at him again, now there was a couple of dozen poles scattered evenly around the park perimeter. Each one giving out a bright light, brighter than any street light could, each one bathing the area in a warm green glow that felt not only of light but of life itself. He didn't need to check them, he knew what light they were emitting, it was barely noticeable by humans but he could see the wavelengths of the light shining around each pole, each one giving out the same type of light that the sun did, the waves matched sunlight perfectly.

"They should keep you safe," He smiled before lifting himself up a bit higher above the park, happy now that no vampires could come in while he was away, he'd still be keeping an eye on them, each pole was designed to signal him the moment something non human passed the perimeter, it wasn't perfect, but it was the best he could do without staying her and keeping an eye on the makeshift triage all night.

He smiled down once more, happy to see that people were going about their duties again, nurses rushing around and people forming queues. Other people now helping out where they can and laying blankets down around the bright green poles for people to rest on. It was a victory, a small one, but Xander treasured it more than anything else he had done so far. This time it was different, people had seen him, people had reacted to him, this time it was out in the open.

Before he moved away he noticed one man standing at the perimeter of the park, standing away from the others. He was watching him but also watching around him, watching the dark shadows of the trees and the perimeter of the park with equal interest.

"Someone that knows what's really going on?" Xander muttered to himself with a smile as he moved himself across the park to the man in question. He was wearing a suit, or what was left of one. A pale blue shirt was unbuttoned revealing a white vest underneath and braces hung from his pants, obviously shrugged off for easy movement or to allow his shirt to move more comfortably while he helped people out. "You ok?" Xander asked as he approached the man, he waited a few moments before setting himself down on the grass in front of him.

"Hmm, yes, oh yeah, sorry," The man stuttered out before taking his glasses off and smiling over. "I'm just... uh... watching, you know, keeping an eye on things."

Xander couldn't help but smile at the man, he was obviously in the know but how he had survived was a complete mystery to him. "Right," Xander grinned. "And the stake in your pocket is... for what? Building a really small fence?" He grinned even more as the man flushed for a moment before pulling his loose shirt down to cover up his pockets even further. "The cross is a nice touch though, simple." Xander nodded to the plain silver cross that was dangling from the man's neck and reflecting Xander's green glow. "Might want to get some holy water as well, just in case."

"Well, it's funny you should say..." The man trailed off softly as he brought out a small flask from his back pocket.

"Covered all the bases then," Xander smiled. "Keep an eye on them, I'll be back when I can, but I can't be here all the time."

"I'll do my best," The man said, standing proudly in front of Xander. "I won't let you down Mister... uh..."

"Call me Ion," Xander said as the man looked a bit flustered at not knowing his name. "And I know you'll be alright, I'll send some friends over to help out when I can."

"Wesley," The man smiled, holding out his hand eagerly which Xander shook quickly. "Wesley Wyndam-Pryce." The man smiled even more as he introduced himself before he placed his glasses back where they belonged.

"Gotcha, see you around Wesley." Xander nodded before lifting himself up. "Oh, and the glow stick things, they're giving out the same light as the sun, should keep any vamps away." He said softly as he hovered a few feet in the air. "Should give you a bit of a helping hand."

"Th... thank you." Wesley stuttered out in shock as he stared up at Xander.

"Anytime," Xander grinned before lifting himself further up and then flying out of the park. "Anytime."

* * *

"Sir," Mr Trick knocked once on the door of the makeshift mayor's office before walking in, the door was already ajar so he knew The Mayor was in there, no one else would dare enter the office if he wasn't there, barely anyone had the guts to go in there when he was there, so it was really a moot point. "We've just received word, the green guy, whatever you want to call him. He's at the hospital, doing the hero thing I guess, anyway, I watched him for a bit, you know, binoculars from ground level, and whooee, I'm telling you, this guy is something else."

"Tell me more," The mayor smiled as he rested back in the comfy leather seat that had been brought in for him.

"Well, from what I saw, he can fly, create things out of nothing, they all seemed to be glowing green though, kinda noticeable if you ask me." Trick continued as the Mayor just stared at him, the full focus of his attention now on the vampire. "He's young though, couldn't rightly see how young as he was wearing that stupid mask. You know, I get the whole secret identity thing but it sure does put a crimp in trying to figure out who this guy is."

"I believe that is the idea," The Mayor said patiently, waiting for Mr Trick to continue.

"Yeah, whatever," Mr Trick shrugged before he continued on. "As I was saying, he was creating slides, parachutes, hell; he pulled a massive chunk out of the hospital wall just by looking at it."

"Telekinesis?" The Mayor asked, trying to get a rough rundown of the powers he would be facing if he couldn't convince this 'superhero' to either join him or leave the town alone.

"Don't think so," Mr Trick replied. "The wall sort of glowed green, like everything else he did, might have had something pulling it out, I couldn't really see."

"Where is he now?" The Mayor asked, his voice slow and deliberate.

"Fourth park west, just a block or so from the hospital, I couldn't get in there, some light thing, it burned like sunlight when I got close. I could just see him talking to some bloke, couldn't see his face though." Mr Trick reported as he sat down in one of the office chairs.

"Spread the word, no one is to interfere in the park or any hospital business for the foreseeable future. Anything this hero does, I want to know about it, but no one is to attack him or anyone with him." The mayor leaned back in his chair and considered his options. "He's obviously powerful, wielding some sort of magic that we can't trace or control, I don't want to give him any reason to turn his attention towards my plans, they've already been... interfered with enough."

"Right, I'll get it out." Mr Trick said calmly as he stood up. "I did hear a name though."

The mayor just turned to him as he lent forwards, his arms resting on the desk as he waiting for the vampire to continue.

"He said to call him Ion, whatever that means. That's what he told the bloke to call him anyway." Mr Trick shrugged his shoulders before leaving the office and closing the door silently behind him.

"Ion," The mayor said quietly as he rested back in his chair. "Well, gosh, aren't we going to have fun with that." He let out a small laugh before pulling his desk drawer open and retrieving a book from the case inside. It was covered in a soft blue velour cloth which he slowly unwrapped, taking great care to fold the cloth carefully before putting in aside on the desk and opening the book to the page he had last been at. "The path of origin," He spoke out loud as he read the first chapter. "Hallowed are the Ori indeed." He chuckled to himself once more before turning the page and starting the preparations.

* * *

Xander's flight path shuddered slightly as he soared through the air above Sunnydale, his thoughts immediately broken as he saw something that would be forever burned into his mind. Dropping out of the air he allowed himself a few moments to right himself before he ran over to where he could see Willow and Giles still hugging each other, to the side of them was a body, he could barely make it out from here but it became clearer as he ran towards them.

"Giles, Willow..." He yelled out as he ran over as fast as he could, the sight stopped him though as he skidded to a halt a few feet away from where they were knelt, now both looking at him. "What... what happened?"

"Ethan, you... you stopped him?" Giles asked, his voice saying that he knew he had done but he needed to hear the news for himself.

"Yeah... what..." Xander stuttered out, the sight of Willow breaking him more than anything else could have. Her clothes were caked in blood, not the amount of blood you'd get from a cut or something manageable, whatever had bled out that much was in serious trouble. "Willow..."

"Oz..." Willow's voice broke as she lowered her head. "He..."

"Oz is a werewolf," Xander said firmly. "He'll recover, I'm sure he'll be alright." He paused when Willow shook her head; he could now see the tears streaming down her face, lit up by his green glow that was bathing the entire street in its light. "But..."

"He can't... not from this..." Willow replied, swallowing half way through, her voice so close to breaking again as she forced back another torrent of tears. "You can though, you can fix this."

"Willow..." Giles said firmly as he stood up but Willow just pulled away from him.

"No, no, Xander can fix this, I know he can. Bring Oz back, fix this," By the time Willow had finished speaking she was nearly screaming at him. "You can fix this, fix all of this." She shouted as him as she walked towards him, the tears now freely running down her cheeks.

"Willow..." Xander started.

"No, don't you 'Willow' me, you fix this, you hear me, fix it!" She screamed at him, bringing her hands up and slapping him in the chest, her blood soaked hands leaving imprints on the green and black leather underneath as the impact thudded against the leather costume. "Bring Oz back, you hear me, fix this, fix it all!" She screamed as she continued to slap at his chest wildly. "Fix it, you hear me, fix it all!"

"Willow..." Giles moved in behind her, slowly reaching out and holding her arms before turning her around and embracing her again. "He can't..."

"He can..." She broke down in tears again as Giles held her. "I know he can..."

"I..." Xander paused; the look Giles was giving him was enough to rival even Willow's resolve face. He had to look away, staring at the floor for a moment he paused; something caught his eye, some sort of movement over by Ms Calendar's body. "What the..." He looked over, focusing his vision, he could now clearly see the energy flowing around her, that same golden energy that he had never been able to quantify before, it was slow, weak even, but it was still there, mixing and flowing around her body. "Giles, she's not dead..." Xander said firmly as he ran over to Ms Calendar's body, skidding to his knees beside her and lifting her head up. "I can see it; she's not dead, not yet anyway."

"Xander..." Giles broke in, he knew what he had felt, no pulse, no breathing, no one could have survived what Ethan had put her through, not even a Kryptonian.

"I'm telling you, she just needs... I don't know, a boost." Xander cut Giles off from whatever he was about to say. "She's alive Giles, I can see it, and I know what she needs." He bent down for a second, sliding his hands under her body before lifting her up and standing up. "I'll be back, we'll be back." Xander smiled down at the limp body in his arms before slowly lifting himself off the ground. "Oh, and keep an eye on this for me," Xander frowned as he create a construct to hold Ms Calendar for a moment as he reached into one of the pockets in his uniform and retrieve the golden ring that he had taken off of Ethan. "Just... I don't know, I just don't want it on me." He shivered as he looked at the ring that had caused so much death and destruction. "Just look after it alright?" He said before tossing the golden ring down to where he saw Giles snatch it out of the air effortlessly. "Keep an eye on things, there's some people over in West Park that need help, nurses."

He smiled back again before blasting upwards in a flash of emerald energy, arcing around the planet until he saw his target destination.

"Just hold on Ms C, just hold on." He muttered, holding her tightly as he blasted towards the sun, speed becoming a mere thought as he forced himself beyond any speed he had pushed before. "Hold on." He grimaced as he passed Mercury, the star in front of him now encompassing his entire field of vision. "Just hold on." The emerald glow around him intensified as he forced his shields stronger and stronger, he knew he didn't have to waste the effort on shielding Ms C so the green glow just wrapped itself solely around him.

Xander closed his eyes as he approached the sun, the brightness was more than anything he could handle, a construct helmet covered his eyes and projected a dimmer view inside so he could still see what was going on, the heat now was unfathomable as he pulled himself to a stop just outside the star's outer prominence. "God, I hope this works." He muttered softly before letting go of Ms Calendar's body, the gravity from the star taking hold as soon as he let go and pulling the now freefalling body into the star. "Be quick."He smiled softly as he watched her body disappear from view into the bright golden plasma of the star.


	28. Chapter 28

Faith just stood in the entrance to the cavern, her jaw hanging open in amazement at what she could see inside, even in the pale dawn light that was streaming through from behind her, it was enough to make out the shapes and lights of the treasure trove that was within.

Bracing herself and shaking off the amazement, she stepped inside slowly, cautious not to touch anything she didn't recognise, whatever technology this was, it was definitely advanced, she was no astrophysicist like Sam back at the camp, but whatever this stuff was, it looked more like something out of Star Trek than anything else, and more to the point, it definitely didn't look like the technology of the creepy Goa'uld that they had fought so far.

She'd come out of camp early for a run, maybe a bit of a patrol to make sure that everything was still safe on the alien planet they were camped out in. Slayers never did need much sleep, but Buffy seemed to be completely out for the count, so she'd gone out alone, hoping to just run off her anxiousness about sleeping out in the open on an alien planet in some far corner of the galaxy, but this, finding something like this had just elevated her adrenaline even more.

The technology really did look like something out of Star Trek, unlike the Goa'uld technology that she had seen so far, which was black, gold and pretty outrageous looking. This technology was vastly different, it was silver for a start, made out of some metal obviously, but the flat surfaces and undecorated areas were all filled with geometric lines and angles, no circles, no gold or Egyptian hieroglyphs, whatever it was, this was something completely new for her.

"What the hell?" She muttered under her breath as she walked over to where she could make out a faint yellow glow in the darkness of the cavern. "Hello? Yo, whoever that is better get their ass out here pronto!" She yelled out, readying her ring to defend herself in case it was one of the Goa'uld aliens that had survived the explosion of the Stargate.

When no response came she slowly made her way forward, deeper into the cavern, slayer eyesight was better than humans, far better, it let her see far into the cavern through the pitch black the had enveloped her as she walked. Now she could make out a larger cavern ahead, only this part of the cave was obviously man made, looking down she could see the rough rocky area underfoot had now been replaced with some sort of metal floor, a soft silver colour like the metals she had seen in the other room.

"Holy..." She trailed off as she came to a stop in the entrance way to the main cavern. All around were work benches, tools of some sort, displays that looked as if they had been turned off, and in the center of the room was a large hexagonal table, displays lit up around on each of its sides, lighting the area up in a soft blue glow.

"Sam's gonna love this." She grinned as she walked over to the main table in the middle of the room and ran her hands over it softly, jumping back when it beeped loudly in the dead silence of the cavern. Stepping back she just watched as something on the top of the table slid open, illuminating the room even more with a bright warm yellow glow that came from within. The table then hissed slightly before the object slowly came to the surface.

The object looked almost crystal in origin; a soft yellow glow came from within, bathing the table and the room with its soft light. The top and sides of the object looked like they had been made from the stained glass window, the same geometric lines that were on the technology in the previous room and all around her in this room were definitely present on this object.

"Oh man, what the hell is this thing?" She muttered to herself as she ran her fingers over the top of the glowing crystal, surprisingly it was quite warm to the touch and seemed to vibrate softly and hum in response to her touch.

"Object is a Zero Point Energy device, current charge is seventy four percent." Faith's ring responded to her rhetorical question, making her jump as the ring's mechanical voice echoed through the silence in the chamber.

"Thanks," She whispered in annoyance, she'd forgotten about that aspect of the ring and was now even more worried about how much of her limited energy she'd used up with the scan and information that she hadn't even really requested. "Huh, Zero point whatsit then," Faith shrugged; putting her hand on the object she grasped it tightly and tugged, stumbling slightly when it came free of the table quite easily.

She held the object in her hand for a moment, surprised at how it had seemed to 'die' when she took it from the table, though she could still feel warmth coming from it, the temperature was slowly dying away. "Huh, guess it only lights up when plugged in." She reasoned, hopefully as she consciously phrased her words so the ring wouldn't respond to the question.

Stepping away from the device she held the Zero Point thing carefully, conscious not to break it as she started jogging out of the caves and back to the camp. She knew Xan's dad would be pissed at her for breaking the camp rules, but she figured bringing something like this back might get him back on her good side, failing that, she could always show them where she'd got it from. She grinned at the idea of holding that piece of information to herself as she broke into a run through the forest, the sunlight now streaking above the trees and bathing the ground in warm light.

* * *

Xander simply hovered in space, the green shield preventing him from cooking from the temperatures that were outside at this distance from the sun. He'd been waiting a few hours now, constantly staring back at where he knew Earth was, where he knew by now General Hammond had managed to send various rescue workers to Sunnydale to help in the efforts in rescuing and re-homing people in the wake of Ethan's attack.

Now he was just waiting and praying for Ms Calendar to come out, like he knew she would. He'd seen her energy; it was still there, still circulating around her body, the Kryptonian energy, just as tough as the Kryptonian body that now housed it. He told her time and time again to get more sunlight, go into the upper atmosphere, fly closer to the sun, absorb as much as possible. He'd known she needed the boost, he could see it whenever he looked at her.

There should have been no way that Ethan should have been able to take her down like that, even an experienced power ring wielder would have trouble taking down a Kryptonian, let alone a novice like Ethan who had been using the power ring for a week or so.

He'd turned around really to save his eyes, the constant yellow glare of the star at this distance filled his vision, the changing patterns of golden and orange hues were giving him a headache after a while, so he'd turned away, hoping and praying that Jenny would be able to find him when she emerged, now he was just staring off into space, praying that Willow would be alright, that Giles would be able to forgive him for not being there for them, praying that Sunnydale would be able to recover and move on from this tragedy, and most of all, praying that he would be able to get this covered up. A hell of a lot of people had seen him, seen him openly using his powers to save people, that was something new, he could still feel the elation he felt when the hospital crowd had cheered him for helping them, the thought brought a soft smile to his face as he remembered how it had felt to be welcomed by the general public for what he had done.

"Wha?!?!?" He practically screamed as he felt something touch his shoulder, spinning around he brought one hand up ready to blast whatever it was into oblivion while raising his other hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the star. "Ms C?" He asked, squinting to make out the reds and blues of her costume against the massively bright sun behind her. He thought he saw her nod, almost certainly saw her mouth move in a fashion of speaking before she blushed slightly and held out her hand. "Oh, yeah, right." He grinned as he created a quick construct of a two way radio ear piece and gave her one before replicating the same attached to his ear.

"Xander, what are we doing by the sun?" Ms Calendar's voice came crystal clear over the radio and Xander let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"You know Ms C, I've never been happier to hear your voice." He grinned before drifting over and embracing her quickly before pulling away. "What do you remember?" He asked, wincing when he saw her reach down to her stomach, which was now showing bare due to the damage her costume had received during Ethan's violent attack.

"He... he stabbed me..." Ms Calendar stuttered out as she felt the skin of her stomach for any damage before looking up at Xander, her face full of questions.

"You're better now," Xander explained quickly. "Look, I'll explain more later, but now we've got to get back, god knows what's been going on since I've been waiting for you to make like Connor Macleod," He grinned as she shook her head in amusement at the pop culture reference. "But you're good, better than before actually; the sun should have charged you up fully, especially being submerged in it for that amount of time."

"I... I was in the sun?" She stuttered out, turning back to stare at the star behind her, not even bothering to shield her eyes from the brilliance of it.

"Yeah, like I told you, Kryptonian bodies need sunlight, or the radiation of yellow stars, something like that anyway," He shrugged. "Look, we've got a long way back, up for a little flight or do I have to carry you home as well?" He grinned as she swung back to stare at him, her face flush with embarrassment.

"I think I can manage on my own," She grinned before moving off away from the star. "I have to say though; I haven't felt this good in a long time, feels better than a six hour lay in followed by a double espresso.

"Uh, Ms C?" Xander said, calling her attention back to him. "This way," He grinned, pointing in the direction he knew Earth was currently in.

"Thanks," She grinned back towards him before flying off in the direction he had pointed, Xander close behind her as he deactivated his communications link for the moment so she wouldn't hear him laugh at her.

* * *

"Giles... what..." Willow whimpered out, she'd barely moved an inch from Oz's body since Xander had left with the lifeless body of Ms Calendar in his arms.

Giles just turned his head back to Willow, his hand still tightly gripped around the small object that had caused so much pain, so much destruction. He'd taken a few minutes just staring at the ring, marvelling at its structure, almost tempted to slide the ring on himself to see how it would feel. He could almost feel the power in the ring, the energy that was soaring through each part of it, begging to be used. Shaking his head out of his inner musings he looked at Willow and finally took stock of the situation they were in. "Willow, let's... we should move, get somewhere safe."

"What... what about Oz?" Willow asked in a small voice, her eyes practically begging Giles to tell her that everything was going to be alright, that this was just a dream and she would wake up from it soon.

A few hours ago they had heard helicopters, seen the lights coming from the sky that meant that relief was arriving, what the relief had been told, or who had sent them was a mystery for now though.

"Willow," Giles moved forwards and knelt down next to her, embracing her in a tight hug. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He whispered in her ear, holding her close.

Willow couldn't respond, the closeness of Giles, the hug, the words, it all made it real; all made it somehow more horrific. Until now, ever since the attack, she'd been running on autopilot, she knew Xander could fix this, even though in the back of her mind she knew that he shouldn't.

"It... it shouldn't," Willow stammered out in between sobs as she pulled away from Giles. "It shouldn't have happened like this."

Giles just looked at her as if her simple refusal to believe what had happened was the brightest thing she had ever done. "Shhh." He whispered, pulling her to her feet as he stood up. "We should go, find the others." He frowned, leading Willow away from Oz's lifeless body. They'd come back, they'd do the right thing by Oz, he hadn't been a Scooby for long, but he was a Scooby nonetheless and he deserved a funeral, a proper one.

As Giles led Willow away from the scene he failed to notice the shadows moving behind him, he didn't notice the vampire in torn clothing watching him from the bushes across the street, a feral snarl masking the angelic face that gleamed with preternatural eyes as it followed the pair from the shadows silently.

* * *

"Guys, wake up," Faith shouted as she made her way into the makeshift campsite. "Oi, come on, up and atem!" She practically screamed. "B, come on, you gotta see this."

"Faith," Jack's morning groan came from inside the shelter seconds before he stumbled out, his t-shirt and black combats crumpled from a long night in them. "You'd better have some coffee or I swear to god..." He let the threat trail off as he slumped down beside the shelter and allowed Carter and Buffy to come out of the shelter.

"B, you gotta see this, there was this cave, seriously, tons of stuff in there, alien toys and allsorts." Faith practically bounced on her feet as she told them about what she had found. "Come on, I can't wait to show you guys, it's amazing, there was this thing, I looked like a car, well, it was like a circle car, but with no wheels."

"A spaceship?" Jack asked, the prospect of finding a way off this planet now more important than the chewing out he was going to give Faith for disobeying him and exploring on her own.

"Dunno," Faith shrugged. "I grabbed this thing, ring says it's a Zero Point something or other," She shrugged again as she passed over the yellow crystalline looking object to Carter who took it gently as if it was made out of glass.

"Zero Point Energy?" Carter breathed out as she shook her head, obviously trying to shake the cobwebs away from her interrupted slumber.

"That's what the ring called it, apparently it's holding some sort of charge, dunno what the hell it is though." Faith shrugged again as she turned to Buffy, science was never her strong suit, she was more interested in how to use something, of if she could use it at all, she didn't need to know how it worked or what made it work the way it did, just how to use it and if it was broken where to get a new one from.

"Sir, this is highly advanced technology," Carter explained after exploring the object for a few moments. "I mean way up there, more advanced than the Goa'uld sir, way more." She paused for a moment running her fingers over the top of the object, noting the design on the surface. "Sir, you built one of these."

"Me Carter?" Jack looked at her in amusement. "I don't think so; I can barely program my VCR, let alone built a Zero Point whatsit."

"You did sir, remember, when the Ancient Repository of Knowledge got downloaded into your brain, you built an external power supply to the Stargate that extracted power from a localised area of subspace." Carter explained quickly.

"That was a waste of a perfectly good explanation Carter," Jack shrugged. "I don't remember any of that, I have vague memories of spouting some alien language, then waking up with the Asgard, the middle bit is a blank."

"I think this is the same thing sir," Carter explained. "It's an energy source of some sort, the same type you built to access the Asgard galaxy."

"Whoah, you mean the 'Gate can go to other galaxies as well?" Faith asked in amazement, going to other planets was one thing, other galaxies, that brought a whole new meaning to the phrase 'a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.'

"Yeah yeah," Jack waved it off. "Seven symbols for this galaxy, eight for another, though we've only been able to use that once, it takes too much power."

"Not with one of these," Carter said simply, holding up the device.

"Great, so we have an alien battery, what does it change?" Buffy groused, still trying to wake herself up.

"It means..." Carter started to explain but was cut off by Faith.

"It means we might have a spaceship and a way to get home," Faith grinned as everyone turned to her. "I did say that right, you know, alien libratory filled with tons of toys and shit."

"Ok, breakfast first, then we go and see what Faith found, and maybe, hopefully, we might get home sometime soon, instead of waiting for help to show up." Jack explained quickly before turning to Faith. "And since you saw fit to go exploring without us, regardless of whatever you found, you can get breakfast." He smirked turning to Faith. "I think fish, since we can't have coffee."

Faith just grinned back at him. "You know, I saw some fruit on the trees near the caves where I found this doodad, looked like big oranges." She smirked as she saw everyone's eyes widen at the thought of a proper breakfast drink. "We could, you know, grab some on the way through, you know, have breakfast at the lab, might be some fancy replicator or something, you know, morning coffee or something?" She grinned as she watched Jack weigh up the options, the thought of freshly squeezed oranges obviously winning in his mind so far.

"Alright alright," He grinned, turning away from Buffy and Carter's pleading look. "We'll check out the lab first, grab some fruit on the way." Standing up he arced his back, groaning as the bones cracked in a satisfying manner. "But first I need a wash, so I'm first in the river, you three can go after." He smiled before standing up and making his way out of the campsite and towards the river. "And stay out of trouble." He shouted back, ignoring the offended retorts he heard shouted back at him.

* * *

"What happened?" Jenny asked as she slowly flew through the atmosphere towards Sunnydale, while the fires were out she could still see the level of destruction caused by the madman with the yellow ring, the same man that had tortured her and pinned her to the ground with a giant glowing construct.

"Ethan," Xander said softly, his green glow lighting up the atmosphere as he flew down beside Ms Calendar. "He was the guy with the yellow ring, the same guy who sold us all the costumes, well, you know the rest."

"But... how, that level of magic is..." Jenny started but was cut off by Xander.

"No clue, Giles' said he was a chaos mage, I guess chaos is just that little bit stronger than usual magic," He shrugged as they approached the skyline of Sunnydale, quickly dropping to the floor so they wouldn't be seen. "We should find Giles..."

"Rupert!" Jenny exclaimed. "Goddess, the last thing I remember was seeing him captured by that madman..." Jenny interrupted Xander as she looked around; they'd landed close to the school in an abandoned car park.

"I dealt with that," Xander said quickly. "He's alright, before I took you to the sun I told him to go to the park on West St, there were doctors and everyone there from evacuating the hospital."

"I'm guessing there's a story there," Jenny smiled over when Xander blushed slightly and turned away from her view. "But first thing, I think we need some clothes, I can't see people accepting costumes like this easily after the attack."

"You'd be surprised," Xander said quietly before turning back to Jenny. "Sure," He said to her face, ignoring her quizzical expression. "Come on, we're near Giles' place." Xander explained before heading down the street to the house he'd been calling home for nearly a year now.

* * *

"Xander," Giles whispered out as he walked into the hospital area, the green glowing rods sticking out of the ground were a pretty good indication that Xander had been here and had done something to help these people.

"Looks like," Willow whispered back as they both walked through the crowds, shockingly now the camp had almost doubled in size since Xander had left. There were now makeshift tents set up all around the park, taking up most of the room along with various other military trucks. "What happened here?"

"I'd hazard a guess that Xander contacted his father, maybe General Hammond and asked for assistance." Giles explained as they walked through the camp, ignoring the strange looks they were getting from people. "We should find some water, maybe a change of clothes." He commented quietly, drawing Willow's attention back to her top that was still sticky with blood.

Willow didn't say anything to that, she simply nodded and let Giles lead her through the crowds to one of the tents, they were about to go in when a voice called out for them, well, for Giles.

"Doctor Giles, Rupert!" The voice called out, stopping Giles in his tracks as he turned around and tried to place where the voice was coming from. It didn't take him long however as a man fumbled his way through the crowds towards the two, dodging and weaving his way through the medical and military personnel to the tent area. "Ah, Doctor Giles, I was hoping I would find you, ahem, sorry about the informal dress..."

"Do I know you?" Giles asked, looking the man up and down to see if there was anything about him that would stand out to give his memory a jog, there was something about him that was ringing bells in his memory, but for the life of him he couldn't place it at the moment.

"I do apologise," The man said with a self deprecating smile. "Wesley Wyndam-Price the third," Wesley introduced himself, offering his hand out for Giles to shake. "I was sent by The Council, though I doubt they envisioned these sorts of circumstances upon my arrival."

"No doubt," Giles said shortly, looking the man over once again. "The Council you say?" He frowned when the man nodded. "I assume you have the necessary papers to prove who you say you are?" Giles nodded in acceptance when Wesley assured him that he did have the Council Documents with him, though they were currently in his bag on the other side of the medical compound. "Well, in that case, might I introduce Willow Rosenberg, currently a student of Sunnydale High School, and a most promising witch if I'm not mistaken." He smiled as he stepped away to let Willow wave shyly towards the other Watcher.

"What, I mean to say, what happened here, some sort of demon attack?" Wesley asked after looking around to make sure they were out of earshot of anyone who would overhear their conversation.

"I'm afraid it's a tad more complicated than that," Giles said smoothly before taking his glasses off to clean them. "A chaos mage, one I used to know in fact, is responsible for the destruction you see."

"A chaos mage?" Wesley looked taken aback by this information for a second before he seemed to compose himself. "I see, and I trust the Slayer has taken care of this individual?"

"He has been neutralized," Giles informed Wesley, though not wanted to explain to Wesley about Xander just yet, he was also unsure about where Buffy and Faith were, and why they were not around during Ethan's attack.

"Good," Wesley nodded. "I assume either Slayer Summers or Slayer Lehane are patrolling the area before reporting their findings back to us?"

"Back to me you mean." Giles said coldly, staring into Wesley's eyes.

"Of course, Slayer Summers naturally will report to you, as she has been for nearly three years I believe," Wesley smiled over at Giles before continuing. "Though I am here to take direct control of Slayer Lehane's training and patrol regime, the council decided that one Watcher was not enough for two Slayers."

"And they sent you?" Giles asked in disbelief, the man before him couldn't have looked over twenty five, his swept back hair and immaculate shave were at odds with his seemingly casual attire, though that could have just been out of necessity in the situation he had arrived in.

"Faith's not going to like that," Willow said quietly, causing both men to turn to her. She paused before clearing her throat and continuing. "I mean, remember how long it took her to trust you Giles, Faith doesn't like change, or she just doesn't like things..."

"I assure you Miss Rosenberg, I am quite capable of handling Slayer Lehane's training, I am a fully trained Watcher." Wesley protested in arrogance.

"Have you ever even staked a Vampire before?" Willow asked, smiling softly as Wesley seemed to falter.

"Of course, it's part of Watcher training to dispose of vampires in controlled tests." Wesley explained after regaining his bluster.

"Controlled situations," Giles practically scoffed. "You're in no danger of finding those here Wesley," He frowned before looking around. "This area looks safe, and I'm sure that there are more pressing matters we should attend to."

"Indeed," Wesley nodded, full of bluster again before he turned to Giles. "We should find Slayer Summers and Slayer Lehane, organise a full patrol of the Hellmouth in case some demonic entities decide to try and take advantage of the chaos." He seemed to pause for a moment before faltering. "Oh, and you will fill me in on the details of the sorcerer who saved these people, Ion I believe he called himself. Is he an ally of the Slayers, or another wild card on the Hellmouth that has yet to be dealt with?"HeHe

"He... he saved these people?" Giles stuttered out, spinning around to face Wesley.

"In front of everyone?" Willow asked in amazement.

"Indeed, I saw it with my own eyes, flying down and recuing people from the burning building, why, it looked like something out of a childish comic, I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes." Wesley explained, a bit hurt that his account of events was being taken into question.

"Yes yes, I believe that he saved these people," Giles waved away the hurt look on Wesley's face. "What I meant to say was, he had been seen saving these people?"

"Oh, yes, he was quite, what is the word the Americans use, yes, flashy about it. No subtlety in the use of his magic's, in fact, I'd go as far as to say he was almost advertising his presence to all around." Wesley informed Willow and Giles before starting back on his walk out of the park. "Are you two coming? We do have work to do."

* * *

"This is amazing," Sam breathed out as she slowly walked into the lab. "This actually explains a lot."

"Huh?" Jack turned to her, his eyes begging for an explanation here as he fearfully held his hands tightly behind his back, he remembered the last time they had run into Ancient technology, the only way they had been able to fix is was with help from the Asgard, unfortunately the Asgard were now fully engaged in their war with the Replicators, so counting on them for help if this went pair shaped would be a little hit or miss.

"Well sir, look at it, Apophis must have discovered this libratory in Sokar's territory when he took it over, that would explain why he chose this site to build his new advanced war ship." Carter explained, glancing around at all the technology around her. "I believe that Apophis was using Ancient technology to enhance his shields, possibly weapons, he chose this site for a reason sir, and I'll bet good money that he's not about to give it up without a fight."

"So the bad guy's returning for his toys?" Faith said simply, boiling the conversation down to the important elements that she could understand.

"Yes," Carter nodded emphatically. "And if I was him, I'd bring a full army with me to take this planet back, he won't want technology like this to fall into the hands of another system lord, Ancient technology would give any system lord a significant lead over the others, technology, knowledge, sir, these were the builders of the Stargate's, their database could be invaluable to us."

"Only one problem Carter," Jack nodded, accepting that this really was a treasure trove of her wildest dreams. "We don't have a way of getting it home, no Stargate, the ring twins over there can't do it," Jack grinned as he nodded at Buffy and Faith. "So unless we have a third option, which I'm not seeing here, I don't see any other alternative."

"So this stuff is advanced then?" Buffy asked, staring around at the shiny silver technology that was all around them.

"Extremely," Jack nodded his head. "And don't touch anything; we haven't got a clue what any of this stuff is, or what it does. The last time we encountered left over Ancient technology, I ended up with a head full of crazy stuff that would have killed me."

"Not fun then," Buffy said softly as she pulled her hands back from the table in the middle of the room.

"Definitely not," Jack agreed. "Whatever this stuff is, I say we just blow it to hell and get out of here, we don't want to risk another 'download'," He paused as he made quote marks in the air around the word. "And I definitely don't want a snake getting hold of this stuff."

"We can't just blow it up sir," Carter objected. "This is the single largest cache of Ancient technology we have come across; just imagine what we could learn from it, the breakthroughs..."

"And I'm sure Apophis is saying exactly the same thing," Jack cut her off. "This stuff is far too dangerous to leave leaving around for some snake head to use against us. We should take what we can, if anything, then blow the rest sky high."

"This stuff is really that dangerous?" Faith asked, looking around at all the Star Trek style gadgets and gizmos that were lying on workbenches half assembled, or half disassembled if Sam was right.

"We don't know," Carter interrupted, turning to Faith. "The technology here could be invaluable in building a long term defence against the Goa'uld, or it could be technology that we just can't backward engineer, the Ancients were so far ahead of us, technologically speaking, that a lot of their science and maths is still not completely understood."

"Right, so it could be a big ass bomb," Faith smirked. "Or a microwave oven, we won't know until we take it apart or turn it on."

"Exactly," Both Carter and Jack agreed at the same time.

"So what's with the doodah that Faith found?" Buffy asked, nodding at the yellow stained glass looking object that the younger Slayer was still holding.

"Came up from over here," Faith explained as she nodded over to the octagonal table in the middle of the room before walking over to it. "Guess I pressed something by accident, it just popped up in the middle."

Carter followed Faith's gaze over to the table before walking over and running her hand hesitantly over the top of it, noting the geometric patterns that curved and intersected over the smooth surface.

"Yeah, right there," Faith nodded to the hole where Carter's fingers were now running around. "It just came up, it was glowing like hell when it first appeared, but stopped when I took it out."

"Some sort of recharging device maybe," Carter mused out loud as she looked at the table first at then the module in Faith's hands. "Or maybe even a device to create the modules in the first place."

"Dunno," Faith shrugged. "But that's not the cool stuff." She grinned as everyone turned to face her with quizzical expressions. "Check this out." She smiled as she walked back into the main cavern over to the circular type craft she had seen before.

"A space ship?" Jack mused quietly. "Little on the small side ain't it?"

"Maybe it's a shuttle," Buffy said as she walked around to the front of the craft where there was what looked like a pane of glass cut into the metal of the ship, allowing for passengers and crew to see out of it. "Can't really see inside though, it's too dark in here." She pressed against the glass with her face, cupping her hands around her eyes to see if she could see anything more inside without the light from the cavern reflecting into her eyes. "What the hell?" She jumped back as a hissing sound came from the craft.

"It wasn't me!" Jack shouted back as he jumped away from the back of the craft.

"Actually, I think it was sir," Carter explained as she watched the entire back section of the craft lower down to a ramp. "There must have been some access panel or a hidden button that you inadvertently touched."

"Fine," Jack groused as he poked his head around the edges of the craft to take a look inside. It was pretty spacious at the back, room for four, maybe six people with equipment. Then there was a door that he assumed went into the control section of the ship, seeing as he couldn't see any controls or buttons from here, he felt reasonably good in that assumption.

"Stand back gramps," Faith said with a smirk, moving past Jack so that she could move into the craft. "I got this one."

"I don't think so," Jack muttered back, moving to intercept Faith into the ship but was blocked by her simply holding out her hand on his chest, to him it felt like walking into a brick wall though he could see she barely even braced herself against the floor.

"You're the guy in charge here right?" Faith explained as she held Jack in place. "If anything bad happens in here, Blondie and Buffy will need you to get them home."

"Carter can manage fine without me," Jack said simply, refusing to budge from his stance.

"And what's Xan going to do if anything happens in here?" Faith challenged him again as he glared at her. "No offence gramps, but Xan's a lot scarier than you, and I for one don't want him pissed at me because you got hurt out here."

"Then you shouldn't go in either," Jack countered her argument. "I've seen how Xander looks at you, like you're the love of his life or something." Jack smirked at Faith's face showing pure shock at his words. "Like you hadn't noticed, he'd go to hell and back for you, and I'm sure you'd do the same for him." He smiled when Faith nodded slightly, the shock now gone from her face as she thought about how Xander really made her feel. "Well, I ain't gonna be the one to tell him you got fried by some alien doodad, so you can wait back there," He smirked, using Faith's hesitation as a distraction as he simply walked by her and pressed his hand to the door at the end of the back compartment.

"Hey!" Faith shouted as she shook her head, clearing the thoughts that were bouncing around in there when she saw Jack about to enter the other room of the ship. "What the hell?" She muttered, watching as the ship seemed to come to life as Jack walked into the cockpit area. "Whoa," She breathed out, walking into the cockpit and sitting down in the chair next to the one Jack had taken. "Beats the hell out of Xan's X-box at home." She grinned, looking at all the lights around the consoles that were now lit up and functioning.

"Sir, what did you press?" Carter asked, storming forward into the ship with Buffy in tow.

"Wasn't me!" Jack shot back, holding his hands up in mock surrender as he grinned. "Faith'll back me up, I just walked it and it all lit up."

"Yeah," Faith agreed, swinging her seat around so she could see Buffy and Carter. "It's like it knew we were here, so it just turned itself on."

"Like the Ancient Repository back on P3R-272," Carter explained, remembering how the Ancient device hadn't worked for Teal'c. "That would explain why Apophis hasn't used any of this technology yet, it doesn't work for the Goa'uld. Just like the Repository of Knowledge wouldn't work for Teal'c, only you or Daniel."

"Anti-badguy tech," Faith grinned. "Liking these Ancients more and more."

"You and me both," Jack grinned, placing his hands on the 'dashboard' in front of him and causing a hum to vibrate through the entire shuttle. "Whoah," He whispered out, feeling the shuttle respond to his tense movements.

"Sir, do you think you could fly this thing?" Carter asked, looking at the complicated controls. The text now scrolling across the screen was definitely Ancient, and so far Daniel had been the only one she knew of that could successfully translate it into English.

"Maybe," Jack answered honestly, running his fingers over the dashboard before gripping the two sticks that look like they had been carved out of some sort of crystal. "How hard can it be?" He grinned as his fingers played over the sticks, causing the shuttle to shift slightly in place.

"Right, so we've got a way off this planet," Faith grinned. "Let's get gone then." She smiled, settling down in the seat and swinging it back towards the main window.

"One second sir," Carter said, walking back out of the craft. "There's a lot of technology here, we should try and take what we can, keep as much of it out of Apophis' hands as possible." She didn't mention the fact that she was practically drooling at the thought of getting some of the Ancient technology back to her lab.

"Good plan," Jack said, nodding his head in agreement. Anything that kept the snakes from getting their grubby hands on Ancient technology was good with him, especially if it meant he got a cool new toy out of the deal. "Grab what you can," He nodded to Carter before turning to Buffy. "See if you can help her, nothing too heavy though, we don't know how much this thing can lift."

"Sir," Carter nodded in affirmative before she left the craft. Buffy just simply shrugged before following after her, her eyes still wandering around the dark cave anxiously as they started to gather bits and pieces of equipment that looked useful.

* * *

"This... this is awful." Jenny gasped out as she followed Xander down the streets of Sunnydale, the destruction of the town evident all around them. Thankfully the destruction and fires seemed to be limited to the major parts of the town, the hospital, town hall, mayor's office. Even now she could see the smoke coming from the general direction of the school, but now helicopters and jeeps carrying medical and relief supplies from the military were buzzing around the area.

Xander just nodded in response, he couldn't believe he hadn't been here in time to stop this, the destruction, the chaos; it was almost palatable in the air, though now it was tinged with something else, the sound of hope. Xander swung his head around, catching a familiar sound in the air, though he couldn't see anything when he looked.

"What is it?" Jenny asked, turning to look at where Xander was now glaring.

"I thought..." Xander trailed off, shaking his head slightly. "Nah, must just be more worn out than I thought." He could have sworn he heard a snarl coming from the darkness behind him, the same almost sarcastic sound that he had heard from Angelus when he was fighting Buffy, but that just wasn't possible, Angelus was in hell, he knew, he had sent him there himself.

"Come on, we should find Rupert and the rest." Jenny stated firmly, now taking the lead and leading Xander down the road towards the school.

"Giles won't be there," Xander said firmly, stopping once he realised where Jenny was leading him. "I told him... god, when I found you, when Ethan had attacked..." He paused, going pale as the memories of what he had seen came flooding back. "They're at the medical park, I told Giles to take Willow there after I took care of the hospital."

"Willow..." Jenny gasped out; the memories of her fight with Ethan now flooding back thick and fast. "Is she alright? What about Rupert, Oz?"

"Giles is fine, so's Willow," Xander explained, looking away from Jenny and down at the floor. "Oz... I couldn't help him."

"Oh god," Jenny whispered out, thinking what must be going through Xander's mind right now. "You weren't there, you couldn't have helped."

"I should have been there," Xander shot back at her. "I could have stopped this, stopped all of this." He shouted, waving his arms around to indicate the current state of the town. "Ethan did this because he wanted me; if I would have been here then Oz would still be alive."

"You know this?" Jenny shouted back at him, moving right up to him so she was basically staring right in his face. "Ethan might have killed Oz even if you had been here, or Willow, or Giles. If he'd kept you occupied than you might not even have been able to save me." She whispered the last out, not wanting to think about how close she'd actually come to dying.

"I just wish..." Xander trailed off, his thoughts racing at a thousand miles an hour as he tried to figure out exactly what it was that he was wishing for.

"Don't," Jenny said calmly. "We can only control the events that we participate in, don't wish to change things that have already happened, no one can control those." She paused, looking at Xander and remembering exactly who, or what he was now. "No one should control those, time is a dangerous thing Xander, it has its own rules, its own lords and people who protect the timeline, even you can't face down the Lords of Time and survive."

"I should have been able to save him," Xander whispered out, thinking about what Jenny had said about the Lords of Time and filing it away to ask Giles about later.

"But you weren't," Jenny said firmly. "Neither were Buffy or Faith, no one could save him, it might have just been his time." She finished quietly. "Where are Buffy and Faith, with Rupert and Willow?"

"No," Xander explained. "They're still with my dad in Colorado Springs; I didn't want them to see this." He said, not wanting to argue about his thoughts anymore, he'd made the choice to deliberately concentrate on this situation himself, that way if he was 'outed' to the public, then it was only his concern, not Buffy and Faith's as well.

"You should get them," Jenny said as she started walking again. "If nothing else, Willow is going to need her friends, especially now." She finished quietly as she walked off down the road, intent on now finding Rupert and allowing Xander to make up his own mind about what he had to do, she had confident however that he would make the right choice.


	29. Chapter 29

"Jenny!" Giles breathed out, almost in shock but his voice turning the single word into a prayer. She was upon him in seconds, the kiss between them almost instantaneous as they both embraced tightly.

"Ahem... well," Wesley frowned, looking up from the book he was reading about sorcerers and evocations of power and then quickly looking away from the show of public affection.

"Ms Calendar!" Willow was the next one to jump up, her exclamation breaking the moment that Jenny and Giles had been sharing and they pulled apart sheepishly. "You're alive, is Xander here, did he fix you? Can he fix this, fix Oz, all of it?" Willow broke off, pausing at the look that both Giles and Ms Calendar were giving her.

"Ahem, what do you mean, fix this?" Wesley spoke up, drawing all attention to himself as he stood up while the rest of the room fell quiet.

"Who's this?" Jenny asked, eying the man suspiciously.

"Wesley Wyndam-Price, the third," Wesley introduced himself as he walked over towards Jenny. "Now, who is this Xander, and why does Miss Rosenberg think he can fix everything?" His glare left little room to manoeuvre as Giles took off his glasses and started polishing them thoroughly.

* * *

"That's about it sir," Carter said with a groan as she dropped the last of the boxes carefully in the back of the shuttle they had found, they'd left enough room to manoeuvre in the small craft, while still taking as much of the Ancient technology as they could.

"Right, stow it tight," Jack paused, eying the back area of the shuttle where he could see there was little space now for people, especially if the ride got rough. "Second thoughts, get up here, we'll all ride in the front and try and lock the doors, might be a little cramped, but it's better than seeing one of you get smooched if this ride gets a little rocky."

"Sir," Carter nodded, taking a last look around to make sure they really had got everything. Most of the technology they had found in the cave had been stripped bare, the circuitry and crystals taken out, more than likely used by Apophis in his latest ship, though they had found a few gems, the ZMP being one of them, or two of them as the one Faith had found registered around seventy percent, while the other one they had found registered at around ninety percent full.

"Yo, we ready or what?" Faith yelled back from the front of the craft, clearly ready to get as far away from this planet as possible in as short a time as possible.

"Ready," Buffy called back, moving a crate from one side of the shuttle to another so she could get past easier, she had to admit, there had been some amazing things in the cave, nothing that could compare to a Power Ring, though there had been some fancy technology that looked like it had come straight out of Star Trek.

"Ready," Carter nodded back, smiling when she felt the hum of the craft ignition as Jack turned the engines on. They'd given it a short test flight, just through the cave system, and slowly, though Jack had managed to scratch the outside hull a few times, the shuttle was now poised at the entrance to the cave system ready for full takeoff.

"Alright, I'll take us out of here, you ok to take care of the cave?" Jack asked, turning back so he could see Buffy stood at the back of the craft.

"More than ready," Buffy grinned, lifting her hand up so Jack could see the green ring sat on her finger.

"You sure B? This is pretty heavy duty, you know, blowing up a mountain." Faith grinned, truthfully she wanted to be the one to blow up the cave full of fancy toys, but doing that would mean giving up the comfy seat, and if this was going to be a long ride then she definitely wanted somewhere comfy to crash until they got back home.

"I got it," Buffy responded with a smile. "I always wanted to cut loose with this thing, I was just worried about, you know..." She trailed off, leaving Jack and Sam wondering exactly what she was thinking.

"Yeah," Faith agreed sombrely, remembering the Jaffa that she had killed back in the forest with a knife construct, there was no chance of that happening to Buffy though, the caves and surrounding area were deserted, they'd figured that much out while moving the shuttle thing.

"'K, strap in campers, let's rock," Jack grinned as he pushed the thrusters forward, accelerating the small craft away from the caves and upwards, slowly at first and then building speed until he was a good half mile away. "This good?" He shouted back, raising his voice so it would carry above the wind that was now ripping through the craft due to the open hatch at the back.

"Hold on!" Buffy shouted, bracing herself against the side of the shuttle whilst holding her ring straight, she was focusing every ounce of will she had through the ring and it showed as a bright green blast emanated from the ring, it seemed to make her entire fist glow for a few seconds as the entire back of the ship was bathed in the emerald glow. The blast then rocketed out from the ring, tearing through the space between the shuttle and the cave until it impacted clean on target, the entire mountain seemed the shake from the force of the blast as it tore into the cave, it wasn't long before the rumbling stopped and Buffy lowered her ring, waiting for the dust to clear to make sure she had done a thorough job.

"I think that should do it," Sam muttered from the doorway where she had been staring in awe at the power contained within a single ring. Now she no longer doubted the rings were the most powerful weapons she had ever come across, even the Goa'uld weapons paled in comparison to the things she had seen the power ring accomplish.

"Ya think?" Jack shouted back, the sarcasm evident in his voice as he twisted his neck round to stare out of the cockpit and back through the back of the shuttle to see the level of destruction that was behind them. "I said block the cave, not destroy the entire mountain." He muttered, staring at Buffy in a mixture of awe and amusement.

"I..." Buffy started, looking at her ring and then at the destruction she had caused behind her, the mountain had been almost reduced to rubble, the previously smooth surface above the cave that went up for hundreds of meters, was now rubble with boulders and various holes and pits in it. The forest at the bottom of the mountain was basically flattened; the rockslide from the devastation she caused was now covering a good half a mile or so from the cave.

"Nice one B," Faith grinned back at her. "Think we should label her a weapon of mass destruction?" Faith smirked as she looked over at Jack. "I could get her a T-shirt and everything." She laughed as Jack snorted at her while Buffy just glared back. "Seriously though, wicked cool work."

"It took a lot of effort," Buffy admitted, wiping her brow with the sleeve of her shirt.

"And a lot of power I'll bet," Sam interjected. "That sort of power must have exhausted the ring, if not very close to."

"Dunno," Buffy shrugged, lifting her ring up to take a closer look. "Uh, what's your current power reserve?" She asked, still feeling a bit foolish talking to an inanimate object.

"Current power reserves are at three percent of capacity." The ring's monotone voice rang back, causing everyone to startle a bit at the unfamiliar voice of the ring in the silent shuttle.

Jack finally broke the silence by whistling. "Jeeze, you blew up a mountain and it barely dented the charge. What does it take to drain those things?"

"I don't think... I mean, I didn't do it right." Buffy commented, actually thinking about it now. "I mean, a blast of power takes a lot of power right?" She paused as both Jack and Sam nodded at her. "So, I could have saved power by just creating a bomb or something, that wouldn't have taken as much energy and would have done the same thing, I just didn't think of it before."

"Wait," Jack muttered, clearing his head. "So you're saying those things could just create a pile of C4 or a nuke, and it'd be just as effective as the real thing?"

"Kinda," Faith nodded. "Knives and grenades worked, so I guess the rest will, we just have to focus and imagine it, the ring does the rest."

Jack just whistled again. "Wouldn't have looked as cool though." He grinned as Sam just shook her head at him. "So those things," He paused, nodding at the ring wrapped around Faith's finger. "They really can just create anything you want?"

"Yup," Faith grinned as she nodded. "I've seen Xan create a truck before, or something like a sword."

"He's done a crossbow, and a cage," Buffy frowned, remembering the cage that Xander had imprisoned Angel in before throwing him into hell.

"Well, we did see him create a lightsaber for the other kid," He frowned as he tried to remember the other teenager's name. "And you two can do all that as well?" Jack frowned as both Buffy and Faith nodded at him. It was pretty cool, knowing the earth was protected and all that, but these girls shouldn't be doing this, not in his mind any way. fighting wars was an ugly business, he knew that there was no way he'd get them to stand down and walk away from this sort of thing, especially since he'd seen what sort of things went on in Sunnydale at night, and for that he was more than thankful for the rings and the boost that they had given to the two girls. That just left him with a sinking feeling in his stomach, the fact was that the rings were the most powerful weapon he had ever come across, hell, they could be the most powerful weapon period, and here they were, in the hands of two teenage girls who were just trying to do their best. He shook his head as he silently moved back to the control of the shuttle and found the control to shut the back door, closing them in before he moved the shuttle away from the destruction behind them.

* * *

The guard simply ignored Ethan's pleading as he walked past the shimmering blue force shield that was holding steady in the 'doorway' to the cell. He'd been on shift for nearly an hour now and was beginning to ponder if he could get away with opening the air lock and dropping the prisoner out at the earliest opportunity.

It wasn't the fact that he was annoying, it was far more than that, it was as if the man had absolutely no back bone whatsoever. So far he'd come up with three distinct excuses about what had happened and why he was not to blame, all of them even worse and more implausible than the first.

First it was the 'ring', which he had claimed someone else had taken, then he claimed it was the fear of a 'Hellmouth' that had driven him insane, then even more implausible, he had explained that it was technology created through magic, and it had been the spell that had driven him to cause the insane amounts of damage.

The guard just walked back to his post, nodding almost imperceptibly at the other guard who was simply stood there outside the force shield just watching, the second guard's eyes never moving from the man inside, his body language tight and coiled, ready for any escape attempt.

"How long we keeping him here for?" The guard asked, nodding at Ethan who was now just slumped in a corner of his cell pitifully.

"Until the brass says otherwise," The second guard replied, his eyes still trained on the man in the cell. "Guess the whole trip, there and back."

"Got a deck of cards?" The first guard asked jokingly, smiling when the other guard fished into his pocket and pulled out a pristine deck with a rubber band tied tightly around them. "Now we're talking." He grinned before pulling another chair over and settling down. "Three card brag, game to win."

As the second guard's attention drifted to the cards being dealt into his hand, he completely missed the smirk that took over Ethan's face as he looked up from behind the shield, his eyes now fully focused on the cards in play and his eyes glinting with the beginnings of a plan.

* * *

"I should go," Jenny said, breaking the awkward silence between Giles and Wesley, neither of them backing down from their positions. "There's... you know." She trailed off, not wanting to reveal her secret to the new member of their group before she figured out exactly where he stood.

"Indeed," Giles smiled over at her, putting his cloth away and returning his glasses to his face. "We should as well; there are various inhabitants of the Hellmouth that would relish an opportunity like this."

"You still have not revealed the location of Slayer Lehane and Slayer Summers," Wesley said, his pompous nature showing through as everyone could see that he honestly expected the entire world to answer his every question just because he was a watcher.

"I will," Giles said calmly as he turned back to the younger watcher. "In time, first we have to deal with the fallout from tonight's attack."

"Which the Slayer's should be taking care of," Wesley continued, oblivious to the looks of contempt he was receiving from both Jenny and Giles. "Watcher's are there to observe, train and record events, Slayer's slay vampires, watchers..."

"Watch?" Giles spat back at the man, half smiling at the fact that he had just responded in exactly the same was as Buffy had done when she had confronted him about his attitude when he had first arrived in Sunnydale.

"Exactly!" Wesley shouted in triumph.

"Not a bloody chance," Giles said firmly, striding over so he was directly in Wesley's face. "While you may be fresh out of the academy, top of your class no doubt."

"I was head boy," Wesley preened before catching sight of the look of disdain on Jenny's face.

"Indeed," Giles said, barely containing his own laughter. "These are the front lines," Giles paused, reaching out and spinning Wesley around to face the corner of the library. "That corner, just there is where the Hellmouth opened," He surprised his smile again as he felt Wesley automatically try and back up from where he was indicating. "Vampire's, demons, sorcerers, incubi, succubae, things you can't even imagine, they're all here, and we are the last line of defence."

Jenny just smiled before she started softly applauding. Her applause was quickly joined by Willow's, and then a third person joined in from behind them, causing them all to turn to the main doors of the library.

"Couldn't have said it better," Xander grinned as he walked in.

"Yes, well," Giles flustered, letting go of Wesley as he stepped away. "We are the last line, understand, if we fall, if the slayer falls here, if the Hellmouth opens, then..."

"Yes, well..." Wesley trailed off, trying to figure out exactly when his decidedly black and white world had been reduced to shades of grey.

"New watcher?" Xander asked as he moved over to sit next to Willow, then frowning as Willow slowly got up from her chair and moved away without even looking at him. He recognised Wesley from the park, but it was obvious from the man's face that he didn't recognise Xander, which meant his first true test of his costume and mask was a success.

"New watcher," Jenny responded with a smirk. "Buffy and Faith?" She asked, her face showing the hope that Xander had done the right thing and gone to get them to help with this.

"In a minute," Xander smiled, nodding at Giles. "Can I have a word?" He asked, nodding to the private office away from the new watcher's ears.

"Indeed," Giles said, smiling over at Xander before turning back to Wesley. "Retrieve some weapons from the cage; I'm sure you are at least proficient in crossbow use." Without waiting for a reply from Wesley he simply walked away, following Xander into the office area.

* * *

"This isn't right," Davis stated calmly as he walked around the bridge of the captured Goa'uld mother ship. The decoration's of the previous occupant had long since been removed, and was now filled with Earth technology, the drab greys and 21st century technology making a stark contrast to the remains of the gold and black Goa'uld technology. He was staring out of the window towards space, the other ship; almost a direct mirror image of the one he was commanding was now placed directly in front of him and the planet ahead. They'd pushed the hyper drive engines to breaking point, going so far as to pump extra juice into them from the two naquadah generator's they had on board, the end result had been worth it though, they'd managed to shave over half of the time of their journey, arriving in just over a day instead of the predicted three. "Any sign of hostile activity?"

"None," Came the response of the airman on control console to his left. "They're just sitting there; I'm reading a squad of death glider's circling the planet though, looks as though they are looking for something."

"Care to guess what?" Davis asked, almost rhetorically before he realised he'd like to know what the Goa'uld were searching for as well.

"Not a clue," The airman responded. "They appear to be leaving what appears to be a crater on the far side of the planet, scanners are picking up heavy amounts of radiation, I'm guessing something went boom down there, a big boom."

"SG1," Davis smiled, it was almost a foregone conclusion that they would be responsible here, wherever SG1 went there was trouble, and most of the time it ended up with large explosions. He'd got used to it, seeing the reports of SG1's activities before he took his extra strength antacid and meeting the review committee to discuss Stargate command's tactics and overview policies.

"I'd guess so," The airman responded, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "Scanning for human life sign's now sir,"

"We want four," Davis said firmly, his brain flicking back to the briefing report he'd received from General Hammond regarding the two earthbound Green Lantern's. "Two of SG1 and two other friendlies."

"No human life signs," The airman reported, regret and sorrow tingeing his voice. "If they were here, they're long gone sir."

* * *

"Two?" Jack muttered as he pulled the shuttle to a stop just outside the atmosphere of the planet. "Ok, who taunted Murphy this time?" He asked as he turned round to face the other passenger's.

"Don't look at me," Faith held her hands up in surrender.

"Not guilty," Buffy said quickly, while Sam just glared over at her CO playfully.

"Oh hell, reading twenty, thirty, god knows how many dots here coming for us," Faith shouted, keeping an eye on the screen if front of her that was superimposed over the main windscreen of the shuttle.

"Death gliders," Jack muttered, his voice strangely calm.

"We should get out of here," Sam said, trying to figure out a way out of this mess.

"Where?" Jack asked, half rhetorically. There were two Goa'uld mother ships in front of him, a squadron of death glider's behind him, and they were in a shuttle that wasn't even the size of a Stargate. "It's not as if we have..."

"What the hell?" Faith interrupted O'Neill's rant as she watched the screen outside, seeing the alien ships like this, from another ship, really put their enormous size into comparison. It was like looking at two giant sky scrapers while you were trying to attack them on foot, they must have been well over seven hundred meters long, and half of that tall. The golden pyramid at the centre of the ships was glinting in the starlight, while the solid black outer segment seemed to just shimmer against the black of space. "Ok, who's on who's side?" Faith asked, watching as the ship furthest away from them launched a barrage of attacks on the first ship, the golden bolts of energy lighting up space as they impacted against the first ship's shields.

"Don't know," Jack answered as he turned back to face the battle occurring in front of them. "Don't care, but this looks like our time to back out." He grimaced as the first ship seemed to rotate in space slightly before launching an attack in return against the other Ha'tak. "Whoever they are, I doubt they have our interests at heart, so stow tight, I'll try and get around them."

"Good luck," Faith muttered, inwardly bracing herself to be shot out of the sky, neither her or Buffy's ring's had enough juice left in them to deal with two alien mother ships, let alone the squadron of smaller ships that was still approaching from the planet behind them. they were slayer's, get them on board the ship and they could do some serious damage, but from out here, with shields and plasma weapons facing them, they might as well be trying to punch a hole in a mountain for all the good it could do.

* * *

"Sir, four human life signs found," The airman on the sensor platform almost shouted, his voice carrying clean through the bridge as everyone was staring at the ship in front of them. "A small craft, just leaving the planet's atmosphere. I'm picking up four humans and four strange energy signatures."

"SG1?" Davis asked, inwardly hoping that this would be the team he was looking for.

"Unsure sir, best guess though, I'm not picking up any radio transmissions from the craft, but it's not Goa'uld in origin sir, doesn't match any known craft in the database either." The airman responded, reading down the scanners and picking out all the pertinent information for his CO.

"Has to be them," Davis muttered as he stood up and stared out of the main view screen. "They were on this planet, no Stargate, no other ships. They're not on that ship," He motioned to the other mother ship that was still just hovering in orbit.

"Sir?" Another airman asked, "Awaiting orders."

Davis paused for a second before turning back to the airman on the scanner system. "Any sign that the other ship has discovered them?"

"No sir," The airman responded. "But it won't be long; the death gliders will be in range of the craft in less than five minutes."

"Then all hell breaks loose," Davis muttered as he sat back down. "Target the mother ship; let's see if we can create a distraction until we can figure out who's on that craft."

"Aye sir," Airman MacLeod answered as he worked on the weapons controls. "Weapons hot sir, ready when you are."

"Fire," Davis said, his voice carrying a previously unheard air of command as it travelled the bridge, everyone braced themselves as they watched the streaks of golden plasma rocket out from their ship towards the other mother ship.

* * *

"We should have stuck together," Willow said simply as they walked down the deserted streets of Sunnydale towards the medical compound, the air force helicopters were now out in force above the town and military air ambulances and fire trucks were a common sight as they surveyed the damage in the small town.

"No," Giles said simply. "Jenny can take care of herself and Wesley, Xander went to fetch Buffy and Faith, I don't want to involve Wesley in our other lives if at all possible."

"But..." Willow tried to interrupt.

"We have enough problems Willow, Jenny is more than capable of defending herself against anything they come across, without drawing attention to herself in the process." Giles explained as he gripped the crossbow tightly. "Now, I want to know why you believe Xander should go against all the rules of nature, all his own rules, and bring Oz back?"

Willow just stopped in the street dead, her feet refusing to move as all the thoughts about Oz, about seeing his death, all of it came crushing back. So far she'd been operating almost in shock, on autopilot; Xander's refusal to do what was right was something she just couldn't understand. If he died and she had the power to bring him back, she would, it was that simple, so why couldn't he do the same for her.

"Willow, I understand it's hard to accept, but bringing someone back to life isn't that simple, even if it is within Xander's power." Giles tried to explain as he stopped next to her. "Life must move on, Oz has moved on..."

"He's dead," Willow said numbly. "He hasn't 'moved on' or anything, he just dead, why can't Xander just do the right thing?" She whispered.

"He is," Giles explained quietly. "For all we know, Oz could be in heaven, on another plane of existence, would you want to tear his soul back from that, thrust him back into the fight?" He asked, watching as Willow started to back down.

"But..." She paused, wiping the tears from her cheek as they begun to roll down her face. "Giles, I miss him, I love him so much..."

"Shhh..." Giles smiled softly as he embraced the young girl and held her close. "I know, it's the burden we carry, the ones who survive..."

Whatever Giles was about to say was lost as a shadowed figure barrelled into them, snarling and growling as it tackled the two to the ground. Giles' crossbow almost forgotten as it skittered across the asphalt before coming to a rest against the curb.

"Willow!" Giles shouted out, regaining his balance first as he pushed himself off the ground onto his knees to see the shadow now bent over the petite redhead, the sounds of snarling and growling echoing through the silent road, making the sounds seem even more intimidating than they would have already been. "Get the hell off of her!" He shouted, glancing around for his crossbow before inwardly cursing as he noticed it nearly fifteen feet away.

Giles could only watch as Willow's struggles became more and more desperate against the larger shadowed creature that was attacking them, his fact was still hidden by shadows but he could easily make out the torn and burnt clothing that was stuck to the creatures skin, the skin underneath the rags of clothing was brown and raw from what looked like years of constant torture.

"I said," Giles commanded, finding the object in his pocket that he was looking for as he stood up. "Let her go!" He shouted finally as he found he footing, standing up as he slipped the golden ring onto his middle finger before pointing it towards the shadowed creature. The ring immediately lighting up the area in a sickly yellow glow as the creature stopped its attack and snarled as it faced him.

"Angel?!?" Willow almost screamed as she tried to scramble away while Angel was distracted by Giles.

* * *

"We've got incoming," Airman MacLeod shouted as he braced himself against the rounded pillars of the Goa'uld weapons console in the centre of the bridge. "And the death gliders have changed course, they're heading straight for us."

"Shields," Davis shouted as he braced himself on the captain's chair.

"Already up," Another airman responded sharply.

"What about the other craft?" Davis asked, turning to the airman on the sensor platform.

"Looks like they're trying to sneak around," The airman responded, bracing himself as the ship shook from a barrage of attacks from the other Goa'uld vessel. "The Goa'uld are ignoring them, focusing their attention on us for the moment."

"Let's try and keep it that way," Davis responded sharply before returning his gaze to the weapons platform. "Fire again, try and keep their attention for as long as possible, as soon as SG1 is out of range, I want to jump out of here."

"Aye sir," Came the response from both Airman MacLeod on the weapons platform and Captain Mitchell on the engine controls.

"Incoming sir, it's from the Goa'uld," The airman on the sensor desk informed Davis as he swung round in his chair.

"On screen," Davis said calmly, sitting back in the captain's chair comfortably before the main view screen shimmered and the face of Apophis revealed itself.

"You shall die for this attack," Apophis shouted, the distortion in his voice from the Goa'uld echoed through the bridge from the speakers. "Cease your attack and I will hear your pleas for mercy."

"I don't think so," Davis responded. "This is Captain Davis of the Tau'ri ship Excalibur, leave this system now or I'll be forced to respond."

"You have no chance," Apophis sneered back. "You dare to challenge your God," Apophis rose from his seat, holding his right arm up and causing Davis to do a double take as it looked like the man's arm was completely cybernetic. "I shall crush you, then retake your planet and destroy the one you call Ion."

"Fire again," Davis shouted, turning from the view screen and making a cutting motion to the sensor desk. Half a conversation with a psychopathic Goa'uld was enough for anyone, especially one who had every intention of enslaving earth. "Get that ship out of my sky."

He was responded by another barrage of plasma blasts rocketing out from his ship towards the Goa'uld, each finding their target dead on and impacting against the other ship's shields. "Again, keep them occupied." Davis shouted. "Continuous fire," He paused, turning to one of the airman stood by the main door to the bridge. "Get to engineering; see if they can hook up the naquadah generators to the shields, we're going to need all the power we've got."

"Aye sir." The airman responded before dashing out of the bridge doors towards the elevator's leading down to the engineering deck.

* * *

"Looks like a hell of a fight," Faith whispered as Jack continued to pilot the small craft away from the main fire fight going on between the two Goa'uld mother ships. "The death gliders have changed course," Faith shouted, getting Jack's attention. "They're heading to intercept the other mother ship, away from us."

"Great," Jack groused, barely even flicking his eyes towards the sensor readout's to confirm Faith's comment. "Now we just have to find another Stargate and get the hell out of here."

* * *

"So, how long have you known about the Slayer's?" Wesley asked as he made his way through the deserted streets of Sunnydale next to Jenny.

"A year, maybe a bit more," Jenny responded honestly. Rupert had expressed his wishes for her to keep her secret, and Xander's, as long as possible, but aside from that he said that honesty was probably the best policy when it came to people like Wesley, or he would just be relentless in trying to figure out everything about her.

"And Mr Giles allows you to participate in the training of the slayers?" Wesley asked, his pompous nature shining through and he gripped his crossbow and swept it around the area due to some leaves rustling that had startled him.

"Research mainly," Jenny replied. "I can read and speak four languages now, including Romany; I'm also the school computer teacher, so that makes using the equipment much easier to explain."

"Mr Giles doesn't have his own equipment then?" Wesley asked, a bit confused now.

"Well, he has weapons and books, you know, the usual watcher stuff, but aside from that..."

"No, I mean computers, the database created by the Council on demons and their weaknesses, the Slayer handbook and all the other equipment." Wesley continued.

"Giles? With computers?" Jenny stifled a laugh as she tried to picture her lover using the latest build of Linux.

"It is standard Watcher training," Wesley huffed. "To keep in contact with the council and send in weekly reports, accessing the database if a known Armageddon class demon had been destroyed the basics."

"Well, yeah, but I mean, I've just never seen..." Jenny stuttered out, she'd never seen Giles use a computer, in fact he seemed to abhor the idea of using them at all, she just figured it was part of the Watcher in him, refusing modern methods over ancient tried and tested means.

"I will have to have my equipment transferred then," Wesley continued as they turned a street corner. "I believed Mr Giles' equipment would be more than suitable for both of us, but it seems I was mistaken."

"So was I..." Jenny whispered as thoughts started running through her brain, if using computers was part of watcher training, why did Giles abhor the use of them, if he was trained in the use of their database, and it could be used to help the slayers, why didn't he use it?

* * *

"General?" Xander smiled as he appeared in the main office of Stargate command, his telltale emerald flash announcing his arrival as General Hammond nearly jumped out of his chair in surprise.

"Xander," General Hammond breathed out a sigh of relief. "I do wish you would call before arriving, it could cause problems if I were in a meeting with some people who would like access to you and your powers."

"Yeah, gotcha, call first," Xander grinned. "Thanks' for the help back at Sunnydale, the place is a mess."

"I saw, I received the first hand reports a few hours ago, I must say, I believe you handled the situation exceptionally well, especially as you haven't been trained for this sort of thing." Hammond smiled as he watched Xander blush under the praise.

"Hardly," Xander frowned. "I should have been able to stop him before it got this far, one death is enough, god knows how many more died that I don't know about."

"You protected the people you could," Hammond explained as he stood up from his chair and walked around to stand next to Xander. "You saved lives; if you hadn't been there then the death toll could have been astronomical."

"It's because of me that Ethan went there," Xander said calmly, he knew it was his fault, Ethan had said it himself. He was targeting Xander and had used the destruction in Sunnydale to draw him out. He'd done all he could to limit the damage and death toll, but in the end, many people had still suffered and died because of Ethan, because he had come after him.

"You can't blame yourself for other men's evils," Hammond explained, laying a hand on Xander's shoulder as he talked. "Some men just want to cause pain and suffering, other's, like you, want to prevent it, to make the world a better place."

"You think I can?" Xander asked, hope shining in his eyes as he seriously thought about going public with all of this, ever since he had seen the reaction on the faces of the people he had rescued from the hospital, going public was a thought that was never far from his mind. He'd seen how they had accepted him, how they had welcomed his help and support. If the entire world could accept him like that, accept him, Buffy and Faith, and then there was so much more he could be doing.

"Maybe son," Hammond smiled, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "But I don't think the world is ready quite yet," He watched as Xander visibly deflated at those words. "The security tapes from the hospital have been destroyed; witness accounts have been altered, though the police and emergency services in Sunnydale seem to be a bit..." General Hammond paused as he tried to find the right word. "Inept when it comes to dealing with things like this."

"Don't I know it," Xander whispered, causing a strange glance from General Hammond. "I think they're just heavily into the denial side of the Hellmouth," Xander explained. "There's no way that anyone who wasn't in denial could be working in Sunnydale at night and not have questions."

"But, you did what was right; you saved lives, maybe hundreds. The security footage from the hospital was most revealing, even if it wasn't as subtle as we would have liked." General Hammond smiled as Xander visibly winced at the memory of having to act outright like that in public view.

"Maybe," Xander paused. "I just tried to do what I could, maybe... I could have done more, saved more people."

"You can't save everyone son," General Hammond smiled as he looked directly into Xander's eyes. "You're not Superman."


	30. Chapter 30

"I should have been able to do more though," Xander said emphatically as he sat down, this was the first real chance he'd had to relax since the attack on Sunnydale. Now that he knew that the emergency services were doing their part, that Sunnydale was now safe and being looked after, it was only now that he let his guard down for a bit.

"You can't do everything son," Hammond explained, leaning on his desk for support as he looked down at the young man who was coming to him for advice. "Don't try, sure, the world needs it's heroes. But there are some things that you just can't fix. People will always show you the worst side of humanity, trust me, I've seen enough to know that there are some seriously dark people out there, and if you don't believe me, ask your father. I'm sure he's got more than enough stories to tell you."

"Maybe," Xander conceded. "I just feel... ugh," Xander threw his arms up in the air and started pacing the room. "It's like I should be doing more, I know I should be doing more. The world has enough problems, gangs, bank robbers, murders. I could be stopping them all."

"You can't save everyone," Hammond said softly, his voice carrying through the room.

"I should have," Xander said, staring at General Hammond. "Someone should have been there, in Sunnydale. This shouldn't have happened." He paused, looking at Hammond. "You remember, the last time we talked."

Hammond let out a small laugh before looking over at him. "Been trying to forget it." He smiled, rubbing his head softly before looking at Xander more intently. "What are you thinking son?"

"Just that it shouldn't have happened," Xander paused in thought. "With Faith and Buffy here, and, I was dealing with something else. I should have been there; I could have prevented this somehow..." He trailed off quietly, slumping back into his chair.

"If you were there, then yes," Hammond said softly. "But you weren't. Even you, with all your power, can't be everywhere when things are going wrong."

"But there should have been someone there," Xander sighed, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Someone should have stood up to Ethan, stopped him from doing what he did."

"From what I understand, your friend, the kryptonian. She was there and did stand up to him, long enough for you to get there." Hammond explained, almost surprising Xander with the accuracy of his information.

"She couldn't though," Xander said quietly. "She nearly died because I wasn't there." He raised his voice at the last before remembering who he was talking to and looked away.

"From what you've told me, about these power rings, the ones you gave Faith and Buffy. Little on earth could stand up to one, let alone stop someone using one for destruction." Hammond continued, pausing for a moment so Xander could think about what he was saying. "You can't protect the whole world, not even with your friends. In the end, you are only one man, just as Faith and Buffy are only young girls. In the end, countries have armies and entire police squads to take care of things like this..."

"Which is what the Corps were designed for," Xander broke in. "The Corps, the Green Lanterns. It's what they are there for, to police the galaxy, to protect planets like this from people like Ethan, from the Goa'uld and other threats out there."

"The Corps aren't here though..." Hammond trailed off, realizing what Xander was getting at now. "You want to build them, don't you?"

"It's the right thing to do," Xander said firmly. "If they were here, they could have protected earth, prevented god knows how much destruction."

"And just who were you thinking of giving a power ring to?" Hammond asked in honest curiosity. He couldn't actually think of anyone he would honestly trust not to abuse the power of the ring.

"I..." Xander floundered, trying to figure out exactly what he was trying to say. "I don't know." He finished lamely, failing to actually follow through on his thoughts to create the Corps that he envisioned.

"You'll find your own place son," Hammond said with a smile. "But now, I think we could do with your help here more than anywhere else."

"Here?" Xander asked, looking around. "What's happened, where's Faith and Buffy?"

"That's what we've been trying to figure out..." Hammond trailed off as he started to explain what had happened on the planet that SG1 had gone to and everything that had happened since.

* * *

The patrol had been pretty quiet for a change, Jenny and Wesley had barely seen any sign of vampiric or other demonic activity the whole night, even with Jenny's enhanced sight.

"You're sure there's nothing behind us?" Wesley asked, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the crossbow tightly while he looked deep into the shadows behind them.

"There's nothing there," Jenny replied, a hint of exasperation in her voice. Her entire body was still tingling from the sun dip that Xander had used to revive her, it felt like she had just woke up from a years sleep, her entire body was racing with energy and she felt more alive than she had in years. "Come on, the hospital area isn't far ahead."

"I know the way," Wesley frowned as he span around, crossbow still in hand as he walked along. He was still trying to figure out exactly what was going on in this town; the emerald sorcerer was the main thing he was trying to place. How could one mage have amassed so much power without the council knowing about it? There were other things as well; something that Mr Giles wasn't telling him. He could see it in the sideways glances between the group, the way he would change sentences half way through and cover up what he had started to say.

* * *

"I said; get the hell away from her!" Giles shouted again as he watched the vampire snarl as him, not even moving from where it was crouched above Willow. He could feel the energy of the ring snaking around him, the visible golden glow was now lighting up the area and casting shadows along the vampires face, making it's already demonic visage seem that more terrifying. "You won't get a second chance," Giles bluffed, inwardly he was terrified for Willow's safety, not to mention the fact that he was now wearing the ring that had almost levelled Sunnydale, a weapon he had no knowledge or training on how to use, and it was the only weapon he had available that could even hope to stop Angelus.

The vampire snarled again, obviously glaring at the ring this time and not Giles himself. He seemed to be actually weighing his options up for a second before he jumped off Willow at lightning speed and tried to disappear into the night.

"Giles, stop him!" Willow shouted, trying to get up from where Angelus had barrelled her into the ground.

"And how the bloody hell am I supposed to do that?" Giles shouted, thoughts running through his head at a mile a minute.

"Focus, the same way as Buffy and Faith do," Willow shouted back, watching as Angelus was quickly disappearing into the shadows. "Think of something, focus on it, then just... I don't know..." Willow whispered the last, realizing that while she had done an inordinate amount of research into Ion and the Green Lantern rings, Sinestro's ring had never actually come up, it wasn't something that she had actually ever considered researching.

Whatever else Willow had been thinking was immediately blanked from her mind as a blast of pure golden energy whipped out from Giles' fist and impacted the back of the vampire, sending him crashing to the floor where he skidded along the floor for a moment before coming to a rest, his back smoking in the soft glow of a streetlight.

"Giles..." Willow whispered, looking over to see the origins of the energy blast. Giles was just standing there; a look of pure hatred on his face as held his fist out, still aiming towards the now unmoving form in the distance. "Giles," She said a bit firmer this time, standing up now so she could try and see exactly what had happened. "Giles, we should get out of here, before he comes around."

"It's a vampire Willow," Giles said firmly, slowly now walking towards where Angelus had fallen. "We let it live, how many people would he kill?" Giles snapped out, turning to Willow. "How many people did he kill before, before Xander finally did what Buffy couldn't?"

"Giles, this isn't you, think, Xander sent Angelus to hell, think, how could he come back?" Willow practically begged, in the back of her mind she knew that this was a problem, a vicious killer that had come back from hell, though another side of her mind desperately wanted to see if they could fix this, see if they could put Angel's soul back in so he and Buffy could be happy again.

"I don't know," Giles bit out as he advanced on Angel, this time his fist practically sparking energy as he walked. "He shouldn't, couldn't have escaped."

"So think," Willow begged, jogging up behind Giles and putting her hand on his shoulder. "Something must have happened, something big, it's not every day that someone escapes Hell."

"Willow," Giles almost stumbled, blinking for a second as he forced the world back into view. "He, he could kill all of us, we should finish it now."

"And he could save us," Willow argued back. "He's done it before, saved Buffy's life. We should at least see if we can help him."

"How?" Giles asked, the golden glow from the ring now slowly dissipating.

"There has to be spells, something, somewhere, I don't know, someone must have an idea of how to put his soul back in." Willow practically begged, her eyes never leaving Giles' as she fought for her idea of true love and soul mates.

"There..." Giles stumbled again, reaching up be wiped his hand across his brow. "Willow, what..."

"Please Giles, someone must know the magic they used originally, the curse to put his soul back in, there has to be a way." Willow stared over, watching in confusion as Giles seemed to be a bit lost for a second before he caught sight of Angelus' still form.

"What..." Giles mumbled for a moment before staring down at the yellow ring that was still flickering on his finger. "Willow, what just happened?" He asked, never taking his eye off the ring.

"Giles, what are you talking about?" Willow asked after a moment, watching as the older man played with the ring on his finger for a moment. "Angel attacked, you used Ethan's ring to knock him out."

"Angelus," Giles whispered the memories of the past year when Angelus had roamed free now coming back to his mind, the amount of deaths that he had seen in the papers alone that he knew could be attributed to the vampire. Every death that could have been saved if Buffy had just done the right thing, the thing she had been trained to do.

"Yes, Angel, we can help him, right?" Willow broke into Giles' concentration again and forced him to look back at her instead of at the golden ring again. "There must be a spell; you must know someone, somewhere that can help him."

"Willow," Giles paused, raising his hand to his head in a feeble attempt to shrug off the migraine that was slowly building. "There... there maybe someone that can help, but we have no way of containing him until I can know for certain."

"Yes we do," Willow said, hope finally building inside her that she could get the two star crossed lovers back together. "The ring, it can do anything, you used it already, just focus, try and think of something that could stop him, something to hold him until you can fix him."

"Willow... it's... it's just not that simple." Giles ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to think this through. "I can barely remember using the ring, it's like a blur. Without Xander's assistance, I wouldn't like to try using the power again, there's no telling what sort of affect it may have."

"But..." Willow tried to interrupt.

"No Willow," Giles said firmly, taking off the ring and placing it inside his pocket. "Ethan created this using the darkest chaos magic known; I dread to think what sort of deals he would have had to make to create something this powerful."

"But, there has to be a way, something we can do..." Willow practically begged as he looked over at the still body a few feet away from them.

"Now, I never said we wouldn't try," Giles said with a soft smile. "Just that we wouldn't use the ring; see if you can find some rope, something to bind him with. We should try and get him back to the library before he wakes up, there I can get in contact with some old friends, see what I can do."

Willow just nodded before running off to see what she could find, happy in the thought that they would get Angel's soul back. She knew it was the right thing to do, just knew it.

* * *

"Buffy and Faith are where?" Xander almost shouted, standing up to face General Hammond.

"Out there, they went to rescue SG1, Teal'c and Daniel are safe, but we have lost contact with the world they were last on." General Hammond explained slowly, not wanting to make the most powerful teenager on the planet angry.

"You haven't heard anything from them?" Xander asked sharply. "What about the Stargate, can't you just redial and see where they went?"

"We tried," General Hammond said calmly. "The 'gate on the other side isn't responding, the only reason for that to happen is if there is already a wormhole at the other side, or if the other Stargate isn't there anymore."

"If it's been destroyed." Xander filled in in a soft voice. "Where were they?" He asked, mentally trying to create a link with the rings he had given to Faith and Buffy. "Doesn't matter," He grinned, establishing the link. "I'll get them myself." He smiled before saluting General Hammond casually and then teleporting himself out of the office towards where he knew the rings were.

* * *

"What the..." Xander paused as he looked around, he was sure he had followed the link correctly; he should be exactly where Buffy and Faith were, not, in some sort of coffee shop. Glancing down he could see he was still in his casual clothes, and he had obviously appeared in his customary flash of green light.

"Hello?" He shouted, looking around the deserted shop, pausing when he saw one woman at the end of the service counter just smiling at him. "Uh, hi?" He asked feebly, wondering exactly where he was.

"Hello," The woman smiled softly at him. "Well, aren't you a puzzle."

"Um, yeah," Xander shrugged. "Look, sorry to flash and run," He grinned. "But I've got to go." He nodded to her before teleporting out.

Again, after another flash of emerald light, he found himself back in the coffee shop, the brunette woman just smiling at him patiently.

"Ok, I'll give, what's going on here?" He asked, facing the woman completely now as she seemed to be the only one around.

"Your friends are safe Alexander," The woman said as she nodded her head slightly. "We've been watching you for some time; the others felt that you were not ready for a meeting like this however."

"The others?" Xander asked, trying to get his bearings on this conversation. "Where am I anyway? And how do you know my name?"

"You are in another place," The woman said by explanation. "And we have always known your name, though you go by many."

"Um, nope, just Xander here." He smiled over, giving the woman one of his trademarked lop sided grins.

"Or the Torchbearer, the White Knight, Ion," She smiled, ticking off her fingers as she went. "And the one we know you as, the one that belongs to only you. The Nexus."

"Look, I can admit to the Torchbearer and Ion," Xander shrugged, he remembered using those two himself. "Angelus was the only one to call me the White Knight, so I think that's out."

"But I does suit you," The woman smiled. "Sit, would you like a coffee?" She asked as she started to pour one in a separate mug for him.

"Uh, sure," Xander said, still a bit confused on his surroundings. He paused as he sat down, looking at the woman across from him now intently, trying to figure out exactly what she was. "What are you, I mean, you're not human, I can see that."

"I was," The woman said as she finished making the coffee for him, adding sugar and milk exactly how he would have made it back home. "A long time ago."

"What happened?" Xander asked, taking the mug as it was offered to him. He had to smile at the logo on the mug, and the name that was under it. "Radu's coffee?" Xander grinned.

"Another place," The woman shrugged with a small smile. "One to help you adjust."

"Adjust to what?" Xander asked warily. He was already getting edgy here, wanting to know that his friends were doing alright.

"The future," The woman said enigmatically. "The changes that you are bringing and the changes that are coming. You will need to be ready for them, the multiverse is changing, and we are not sure if it for the better."

"What do you mean changing?" Xander asked, looking at the woman intently as she seemed to reach around for something before dropping a newspaper on the table in front of him.

"Read," She said simply. "Do not worry, you will keep your memories from this place, we cannot mask the past with you as we once did."

"Once did?" Xander asked. "I've been here before?"

"Not to this place, we have talked before however but the changes are so great, the danger is so great that we will need to act soon, sooner than we would have liked." The woman smiled, taking a sip of her own coffee.

Xander frowned, trying to digest this information as he glanced at the newspaper. At first his brain refused to register what he was seeing, then slowly he focused on the words again. "The green lanterns of earth, helpless under Apophis attack?" He read off the paper, staring at the woman. There was even a black and white photograph of two Goa'uld vessels fighting each other with a smaller ship caught in the middle.

"We are always watching, observing, and waiting." The woman said slowly.

"Waiting for what?" Xander asked, half realizing that he actually didn't want to know the answer to that question.

"The Crisis," The woman replied, making Xander cringe as he could already hear the capitals in the words. "The change is coming, there is nothing we, or you, can do to prevent it."

"I need to go," Xander frowned, not wanting to really go into anything at the moment until he was sure that Buffy and Faith were safe.

"You can't leave," The woman said softly, not menacingly, just a matter of fact sentence. "Not until you have seen what we brought you here for."

"Then show me." Xander said impatiently. He couldn't do anything from here, for all he knew Buffy and Faith needed him, Earth needed him.

"The future is fickle, we can only show you what could be, even we cannot predict the outcome of The Crisis," The woman smiled, reaching forward and taking hold of Xander's hand. "I will not be there for you, however, when you wish to return, simply focus on my name."

"Which is?" Xander frowned, wondering exactly where this obviously powerful woman would be sending him.

"Oma Desala," The woman said with a smile before she gripped Xander's hand tightly and he vanished into a flash of blinding white light.

* * *

Onboard the small shuttle craft, Faith shuddered slightly as she gripped on to the dashboard for support.

"What, what is it?" Jack asked, taking his eyes off the display for a second to see what was wrong with the brunette slayer.

"It's Xander," Faith whispered. "He's gone."


	31. Chapter 31

Xander shook his head to clear the bright flash that had practically blinded him. "Could'a warned me." He muttered as he blinked repeatedly to clear the purple and green dots that were now dancing in front of his eyes.

Glancing around he noted he was hanging just above orbit of a planet, a blue and green one, just like earth. In fact if it hadn't been for the twin stars glittering in the distance or the three moons, it could have been just like any other planet he'd seen so far.

"So, this is what you wanted to show me?" He asked no one in particular, focusing on the planet he quickly dove through the atmosphere in a style reminiscent of an emerald meteor and started to look around the planet.

It was barren, plants and trees, maybe some animal life, but no intelligent life that he could see. Bringing up his speed he quickly shot back up in the air, circling the planet to see if there was any life he'd missed on his first look around, but the second inspection came up pretty much the same as the first. "Ok, quiet planet, what am I supposed to do now?" He asked, hoping that someone would give him guidance. He'd deliberately been keeping the name the woman had told him out of his mind, she'd obviously sent him here for a reason, and he definitely wasn't going to leave without figuring out what that was.

"What the..." He muttered, looking up to see the bright white flash off in the distance that had grabbed his attention. "Whoa," He muttered, looking at the giant craft that had just entered orbit. It was huge, like city huge, the construction reminded him of the city he had seen while trying to find Oa, only this was flying and so beautiful.

"This I gotta see," He grinned as he accelerated upwards, through the atmosphere and around to get a better look at the city ship as he had nicknamed it. He brought himself to a stop in front of the ship and just hung there in space, the sheer size of the ship astounded him. "Uh hi?" He grinned, waving as he spotted someone staring at him through what looked to be some sort of force field. The woman simply waved back after a moment, shock obviously plastering her face.

"Stupid question," Xander grinned as he moved forwards slowly, hands up to show no malicious intent as he pushed himself through the force field. "Mind telling me where I am?" He asked, inside the force field now he could feel air, as such he was happy that the woman could hear him, if not understand him.

"Ion?" The woman asked, confusion on her face now. "Aren't you supposed to be earthside? We received a call from Faith asking for help."

"You know me?" Xander asked, a bit in shock at this revelation. "And Faith?"

"The Green Lantern Corps," The woman shrugged. "Are you alright?" She asked as she watched him hover across to the balcony she was on and stand in front of her.

Xander just watched the woman carefully as he came to land in front of her, she was wearing a simple black bodysuit, not as form fitting as the Star Trek ones, but it looked a lot comfier and was obviously built with practicality in mind. Her short curly brown hair was hanging loosely around her head as she seemed to be as curious about him as he was about her. "What is this place?" He asked, looking around at the magnificent city ship.

"Atlantis," The woman told him with a smile. "But you already knew that," She stifled a laugh. "You came with us remember, the first time to the Pegasus galaxy. The Wraith war, all of that?"

"Sorry," Xander shook his head, the implications of what Oma Desala told him finally sinking in. "This is going to sound crazy, what's the date?" He asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"October fourteenth," The woman said with a shrug. "We're down to two ZPM's, so it took us a bit longer to get here than it would do normally."

"Right," Xander drawled out. "The year?" He winced as the woman looked at him like he was crazy.

"Two thousand and nine," The woman replied after a moment. "You're not Ion are you?"

"Not the one you know," Xander grimaced. "It's nineteen ninety nine for me," He shook his head as he braced himself on one of the barriers and stared out at the stars. "Ten years?" He almost shouted into the emptiness of space. "You sent me ten years into the future?"

* * *

"She was an Ancient," Doctor Weir told him after they'd gone through the initial introductions. "One of the Ascended ones."

"And these Ascended, they're capable of this?" Xander asked, his hands wrapped around a mug of coffee that Doctor Weir had brought for him. He was still edgy here, not knowing exactly who around here he could trust and who already knew his secrets.

"More than capable," Doctor Weir told him with a smile. "We know the Ancients were experimenting with time travel when they were still on this plane of existence, once they ascended, the must just not need the technology anymore."

"Nice to know," Xander quipped.

"We're heading on to Earth from here," Doctor Weir told him. "We only stopped to let the secondary systems cool down for a minute. We should be in earth orbit within the hour."

"Sounds fun," Xander smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "So, you're part of Stargate Command then?"

"Not directly," Doctor Weir shrugged. "More a civilian contractor, when Doctor Jackson discovered the location of Atlantis, it was decided that a civilian team of scientists would work better than a full military operation would. You and Faith came along at first to keep the peace and help out in case we needed it."

"We left Earth?" Xander asked in shock, that didn't sound like him at all. Admittedly he could always just teleport back or just use the Stargate, but to not be there if something did go wrong, that was definitely rubbing him the wrong way, especially after what had happened to Sunnydale.

"For a while," Doctor Weir explained. "You both made trips back from time to time, Buffy's engagement to Jon, Willow's... graduation... things like that."

Xander frowned as he caught Doctor Weir's slip but didn't pull her up on it; there were some things about the future he just wasn't ready to know just yet. Xander was shocked out of his musings by a soft knock on the glass door that Doctor Weir had closed so they could have some privacy.

"Ah, Doctor Zelenka, is everything alright?" Doctor Weir asked with a smile.

"Yes, yes of course," Zelenka answered with a small stammer. "I heard you were back on board," He smiled over at Xander. "I was just wondering, is there any news on Rodney?"

"Rodney?" Xander asked in confusion, frowning as he felt really out of depth here catching the end part of things he hadn't yet even thought about doing.

"We haven't seen him in years," Zelenka frowned. "And it's not like him to leave Atlantis like this, I know he wanted to do the training, help out and all, but he must have earned a break by now."

"Training?" Xander asked, standing up to move across so he could see Zelenka properly. "Look, I'm sorry Doc, but I'm a bit lost here."

"You recruited Rodney, Doctor McKay," Doctor Weir told him with a smile. "After the incident with evacuating the refugees... never mind," She shrugged. "Come in Doctor, this is a bit of a long story." She smiled as Doctor Zelenka moved into the room and closed the glass door behind him.

"This isn't the Ion we know," Doctor Weir explained.

"Oh," Zelenka frowned. "An alternate reality then, especially with the fight going on back earthside. You must have come through with the rest then."

"The rest?" Xander asked in shock. "What fight?" He frowned. "Wait, no alternate reality, I'm from the past, or you're in my future, whichever, this time travel stuff is going to give me a headache I just know it." He groaned as he sat back down in his chair and frowned as he tried to wrap his head around it.

"Right, so you're from before the Atlantis mission got started then?" Zelenka asked, obviously trying to put the timeline straight in his head.

"By a few years," Doctor Weir smiled. "This Ion is from ninety-nine, it seems Oma Desala sent him here for some reason."

"Ohhh," Zelenka drawled out. "Doctor Jackson told me about his dealings with her, I believe the term he used was..."

"Difficult?" Xander grinned, trying to picture Daniel dealing with the woman he had met in the coffee shop.

"Confusing," Zelenka finished off. "A sort of Zen riddle without an answer."

"That's her," Xander smiled. "So what's the fight going on back on earth, am I there, you know..."

"I'm not sure we should tell you," Doctor Weir frowned.

"What, did I implement some sort of temporal prime directive or something?" Xander grinned for a second before frowning. If time travel was in his future, or his past, would he implement something like that to stop people telling him things?

"Not that I know of," Zelenka frowned. "Though you should ask, well yourself, or O'Neill for the question to that."

"Colonel O'Neill?" Xander grinned. That actually did take a load off his mind, while he was, in one sense still reeling over hearing about Buffy getting engaged; knowing that the people he cared about were safe was a load off his mind.

"Green Lantern O'Neill," Doctor Weir grinned at him. "Ring trainer to the Corps." She laughed as Xander just stared at her, his mouth open in abject shock.

* * *

"Whoa," Xander came to a complete stop as he just hovered in the lower atmosphere of Earth. He couldn't take the future talk anymore on Atlantis so had just teleported here, probably leaving a very confused pair of doctor's in his wake, but he needed to see this all for himself.

"What happened?" He whispered, staring down at where Sunnydale used to be. Only it wasn't there anymore, none of it. The entire town had been wiped off the map and replaced with... it took him a minute to recognise it but once the shock wore off he grinned and shot down to the right altitude.

It was a lake, Sunnydale was a great lake. He grinned at the sight of it, the lush greenery growing around it and the sheer size of the lake with rivers running in and out of it to the sea. It was just stunning, and there, right in the middle of the lake was Oa.

It was the same city he had seen when looking for OA. The same spirals, the same soft grey buildings, the same lines and hexagonal designs, only now, with the water around in and the sunlight gleaming on it, it just looked amazing.

"What happened?" He muttered, forcing himself to land on the lakeside so he could just take in the view for a moment.

"You did,"

Xander span around as he recognised a familiar voice from behind him. "Giles," He grinned, turning around to see his mentor simply hanging there in the air, surrounded by a soft golden glow. "Uh, The yellow ring, it's not..."

"It's perfectly safe," Giles smiled at him as he came down and landed beside Xander. "You taught me, or will teach me, how to control it. Control my fears so to speak."

"I taught you?" Xander grinned.

"Yes, well," Giles chuckled slightly and started polishing his glasses. "So, you told me you would be here, though I must confess, I never actually believed you about the future, even when everything you said would happen came true."

"So, you know everything?" Xander asked, it made sense and was sort of calming in a way to know that he did get back to his own timeline and could tell Giles about all of this.

"I know," Giles smiled softly at him. "Just as you know that I won't tell you what is to come," Giles carried on, ignoring the teen's objections. "You asked me too, before... well, before. Some things you can't change Xander, and others you might make worse."

"I can see that," Xander quipped. "This looks like a paradise." He grinned as he saw three more bright green lights fly down from space where they went down to fly into the city. "The corps?"

"A work in progress," Giles smiled. "Jack is doing good work with them, along with the other trainers."

"So, where am I then? Out dealing with cosmic bad guys? Relaxing on a beach?" Xander stopped when Giles frowned at him. "What? Come on Giles, spill. I'm not dead am I?"

"No," Giles smiled slightly. "The last communication we heard from you, you said you would be returning in two months."

"Returning?" Xander frowned. "Where from? Doctor Weir said they heard from me that they were needed here."

"They were," Giles nodded. "We do still need them, even though the fight is over, we will still need the power of Atlantis to help out while you and Clark are away."

"Clark?" Xander questioned, and then frowned as Giles' waving his hand dismissively. "Oh come on," He groused, wanting to know so much about his future but not being told the answers was definitely starting to bug him now. "At least tell me where I am, the other me I mean, some other galaxy? Exploring space? Where?"

"You're on Earth," Giles smiled slightly as he gave in to Xander's questioning. "Just not this one."

"Another dimension?" Xander grinned. "So that's what Doctor Zal... whatever was talking about. We've been dealing with other dimensions?"

"Well, this is only the second time so to speak," Giles smiled. "But neither times have been what you would call pleasant."

"So I'm there, exploring this other earth?" Xander grinned wider. That definitely sounded like fun to him, especially if he knew that there were the Corps here to protect Earth.

"For a while," Giles smiled, not wanting to tell him the rest about him being trapped there for some time. There were some things that he did need to keep secret from the young man, so as not to adversely affect the timeline when he went back.

"So," Xander grinned. "Buffy's engaged, Willow graduated... from where?" He shook his head in frustrated when Giles just frowned at him. "Oh come on, give me something here. I was sent here for a reason, obviously to change something, so what gives Giles, what's happened that's so bad?"

"Perhaps I should show you," Giles said finally, standing up and then taking off so he was a few feet above ground level.

"Finally," Xander nodded as he did the same, following Giles as they flew out towards the main city.

"The world changed you know," Giles explained as he flew on. "You wrote it all down, the changes from The Crisis. Only you, Jenny and Faith could see them, the rest of us, we were affected."

"What changes?" Xander asked, picking up his speed so he could fly along next to Giles.

"When the Crisis happened, the dimensions collapsed. You three weren't here at the time, I believe you called it 'Hypertime'." Giles continued to explain. "But because you were outside of normal time when it happened. You three were unaffected by the change."

"What change?" Xander asked again, trying to wrap his head around the concept of collapsing dimensions.

"You'll see," Giles smiled at him as they approached the city, there were no shields up so the two just flew directly to the main tower and landed softly on one of the empty balconies. "Xander, I must stress, this will be difficult for you, there have been many changes in the past year, not all of them good."

"I'll adjust," Xander said firmly as he pushed past Giles' hand and walked through the doorway.

"Oh man, am I glad to see you!" Xander could barely get a thought in when a red blur attacked him, hugging him tightly and then just as quick the blur was gone, back to where he had originally been by a control panel. "Where's Clark? Is he with you? Did something happen? Did..."

"Bart!" Giles' shout quickly silenced whatever else the young man had to say. "Please, do slow down, I will explain everything in due course, but Clark is not back yet, nor are we expecting him back for another two months."

"But Kara..." Bart started to protest but was shot down by a very effective glare coming from Giles.

"We are just on our way to see her ourselves." Giles said patiently. "Now, have we heard any more from Faith?"

"Not yet," Bart sort of blurred for a second before he reappeared next to Giles holding a stack of papers. "Last report said she was trying to make contact with this bat demon thing down in Gotham."

"And when was that?" Giles asked, leafing through the papers quickly looking for dates.

"A little over a week ago sir," Bart said softly.

"Then I suggest you go and check on her," Giles smiled as he pointed out of the window. "I will take care of things here while you help Faith in Gotham."

"Field trip," Bart grinned before blurring again and reappearing next to Xander, this time clothed in bright red with a stylised lightning bolt design on his chest and arms. "Gotta say, great to have you back man. Knew Anubis couldn't keep you down." He grinned for a second before he was gone in a blur of red light, leaving his slipstream to rush through the main building.

"What the..." Xander looked on in amazement, trying to see where the young man had gone but by the time he had turned around, the man had simply vanished, leaving only a wake of waves on the lake that were slowly dissipating as proof of where he had gone.

"Bart," Giles smiled. "You'll get used to him. Lord knows I have had to." Xander grinned as he continued to follow Giles out of the room and down a small staircase. "As I said, things have changed."

"Yeah," Xander nodded. "We've got speedsters as well now? What else, New Gods... Wait, Gotham, as in Gotham City?" Xander came full stop as Giles nodded to him. "Faith's checking out the Batman?"

"I'm afraid so," Giles nodded sombrely as he continued to walk down. "As I said, when the Crisis happened, dimensions were merged. We don't know precisely how many dimensions there were originally, nor how many merged into this one. As you, Faith and Jenny were the only ones who could catalogue the changes; we were left to go on only your memories of what used to be against what is."

"And that was a waste of a perfectly good explanation," Xander quipped as he jogged up to see where Giles had stopped on a gangway overlooking a great hall. "Whoa," He exclaimed, looking down at all the people beneath him.

There were Green Lantern's there, dozens of them. Some aliens he hadn't even seen before were there wearing the uniform proudly.

"The refugee area," Giles said with a smile. "Anubis, whom Bart mentioned. When he opened the gateway, people and things bled through. We're trying to keep the peace until we find a way to get these people home."

"They're all..." Xander paused, letting the implications sink in. He looked around, now actually staring at individual people instead of the crowd.

"From other dimensions, yes, we've been able to calculate approximately fifty dimensions are left. The people here have come through from various dimensions though, not just one." Giles explained, looking down at the crowd.

"Wow," Xander breathed out, he could make out people he definitely recognised there.  
"Their home dimension, what changes occurred in the timeline, those sorts of things. I believe there is even a different version of you here somewhere," Giles chuckled as Xander whipped around to look through the crowd again. "He's helping out somewhere at the moment, his distinct gifts as a Time Lord are helping him to access the Ancient database here for General Carter."

Xander just stared in awe as Giles waved his hand over a door and opened it for them before closing it behind them. "It is quite a sight," Giles chuckled. "I remember the first week after the fight, when we started to notice them. I didn't believe it at first myself either."

"It's just..." Xander struggled to find the words as he thought back to everything he had just seen. The Corps there, helping out, keeping the peace between the dimensionally stranded people. It was more than he could ever had expected.

"Gibbs," Giles smiled, nodding at the man by the door they were heading for.

"Giles," The man nodded back in respect, he was wearing the Green Lantern uniform as well, standing proud outside the door, the Green Lantern ring on his finger shining brightly as he stood guard.

"Leroy Gibbs," Giles introduced the two. "A friend of your fathers. Jack brought him in to help with the trainees and to help with the Ori crisis."

"Nice to meet you," Xander smiled, holding out his hand for Gibbs to shake.

"Same, again," Gibbs nodded, shaking Xander's hand and looking at Giles for an explanation.

"Later," Giles nodded as he opened the door. "It's a long story."

"Then you can tell me later, you're buying." Gibbs smiled as Giles walked by and motioned for Xander to follow him.

"Later, and I'm buying." Giles nodded with a smile as the doors closed behind him.

"Buffy!" Xander shouted, darting forward to where he could see Buffy lying in a hospital bed next to another blonde woman. Both were badly beaten and bruised and neither seemed to be moving at all.

"Xander," Giles shouted, running forward to catch the young man. "She is alright, she's just resting."

"What happened?" Xander shouted, twirling round to face Giles. "Who did this?" He practically screamed in Giles face, emerald energy now flashing around him in anger.

"Anubis," A quiet voice came from behind him, causing Xander to twirl around to see who it was. "Xander, it's been a while."

"And you are?" Xander shot back, his eyes looking over the young man that seemed so protective of Buffy. He was a bit older than Xander was now, maybe in his early twenties. With short cropped hair marine style and a casual dress sense.

"Jon," The young man answered, holding his hand out. "So this is it huh? The future time you told us about?"

"Guess so," Xander nodded, the anger starting to seep away as he shook the young man's hand and noticed the engagement ring Buffy's finger for the first time. "Buffy's boyfriend?"

"Fiancé," The man corrected with a sly grin.

"And the other woman?" Xander asked, looking at the thin blonde next lying next to her. Only on this bed, there was an open window behind her, letting bright sunlight stream in, and various lamps around her that seemed to be simulating sunlight.

"Kara," Giles said with a small smile. "Buffy gave her her ring to help defeat Anubis." Giles explained. "When she couldn't, she came here to find you."

"Is he..." Xander frowned, the anger starting to come back as he thought of getting revenge on the person that had done this to his best friend.

"Taken care of," Jon smiled at him. "You kicked his ass through the multiverse, that's how we're stuck with the refugees."

"I caused that?" Xander asked in shock.

"Kinda," Jon said sheepishly. "Anubis had the portal open; you just kinda ripped it when you tore through it to get to him."

"Did we?" Xander asked, getting more and more curious about what had happened as time moved on.

Jon just shrugged as he turned to Giles. "I believe so," Giles answered. "In your first communication, you said that your friends on the other side of the dimensional rift were able to help you remove Anubis from Clark."

"He was possessing someone?" Xander asked, memorising the name Anubis to look up when he got home, he must have been some sort of high ranking demon to have been able to do this to a Slayer, especially one with a Green Lantern ring.

"Clark," Another voice came from the shadows on a walkway above, causing everyone to stare up at him.

"Angel," Both Xander and Jon snarled out together. "What are you doing here?" Xander continued, stepping forward so he was covering Buffy's unconscious body with his own, he briefly smiled as he felt Jon do the same behind him.

"Heard you were back," Angel continued, not moving from his spot in the shadows. "Never got a chance to thank you for your help last year."

"My help?" Xander asked in disbelief, a bit taken back that he would do anything to help Angel. As Giles has said, a lot of things much have changed in the years since he returned to his normal time. "So, what do you want?"

"To see if Buffy is alright," Angel said softly.

"She'll make it," Jon replied harshly. "Not that you were there to help out when we needed you."

"I had my own battles," Angel shot back, ignoring the young man. "As you well know." He said, looking Xander directly in the eye. "You're not him, you smell the same, but you're not Harris."

"Same guy," Xander shot back, hovering upwards to meet Angel's glare at his own level. "Different vintage."

"Buffy thought you were crazy," Angel said, finally getting the subtext. "You're really you, from before."

"Yeah," Xander nodded. "So I don't know what you've been doing, what's happened or why I would help you. Hell, the last time I saw you, I was sending you to... well, hell. So how the hell did you get back out of the pit?"

"I was pulled out," Angel said. "Saved by someone, something." Angel paused, looking down at the two blondes lying unconscious down in the medical bay. "Is Kara going to be alright?" He asked, genuine concern on his face.

"She will," Another voice came from the gangway as an alien walked into view from the shadows. His Green Lantern uniform displayed proudly under a white lab coat as he walked over, his ring sparking restless energy with every step. "It will just take time; she received a hell of a beating." The alien continued. "Stirling," The alien said by way of introduction, holding one of its clawed hands out for Xander to shake.

"Xander," Xander nodded as he shook the hand of the alien, it, he was lizardlike, with two folded wings on its back that flowed down the back of his uniform. The skin was a pale blue, almost translucent with shades of shining purple and green.

"It's a pleasure," Stirling smiled, baring a grin of scarily sharp teeth. "Jack recruited me, but I've never had the pleasure before."

"Pleasure's mine," Xander smiled back. "Doctor?"

"Field medic," Stirling nodded. "I help out when I'm planetside, when I'm not on patrol of course." Stirling added the last part quickly as he smiled sheepishly towards Xander.

"Hey, you're help is more than welcome here," Xander nodded before turning back to Angel. "So you have your answers," He frowned, wondering exactly what had happened between him and Angel.

Angel just nodded before moving off back into the shadows. "Watch your back Xander," Angel said quietly as he moved to leave the room. "When you get back, thing's aren't exactly what they appear in Sunnydale."

"Cryptic much," Xander frowned as Angel left the room. "Guy never changes." He muttered as he turned back to Stirling. "So," He smiled, nodding down to Giles who had moved to the doorway and was talking to the Green Lantern guard there. "How'd you get recruited into all this anyway?" He asked as he followed the alien out of the room.

"I'm just about to leave for patrol," Stirling smiled again, baring those frightening teeth at Xander. "Fancy joining up?"

"Love too," Xander smiled back as he watched the lizardlike alien hang up his lab coat on the nearest wall. "Where we heading?"

"Oh you know," Stirling smiled. "The usual." He grinned over before taking off out of the nearest open door and over the balcony in a green blast of energy.  
"The usual?" Xander shouted after him as he dove out of the window to follow. "What's the usual?"

* * *

"What... hold on..." Xander frowned as he pulled to a stop behind Stirling just off the coast of New York. The flight over had been pretty interesting, Stirling recounting some of his adventures since he had joined the Corps, fighting the Goa'uld and other various enemies. Where his home planet came from, and how the Crisis had set his race free from their own imprisonment.

"What, what's wrong?" Stirling called back, pulling himself to a stop a few dozen yards in front of Xander. "You see something?"

"Uh, no, but we're patrolling New York?" Xander asked in disbelief. "Out in the open, you know, flying around?"

"Just like always," Stirling nodded. "Standard patrol, we go in, patrol for an hour or so, then report back to base."

"And people are alright with this, with... well, you?" Xander asked, a bit in disbelief at the thought of how people would react to seeing aliens like Stirling about in the open. On a subconscious level, he's already realized that people must have accepted aliens existing; the giant alien city floating in the Sunnydale lake gave credence to that idea.

"Sure," Stirling nodded. "Are you sure you're alright Ion?" He asked, hanging in mid air and waiting for Xander to respond.

"Yeah," Xander smiled, shaking off the future shock. "It's just... it's nothing, come on, race you down there." He grinned before taking off down towards New York harbour in a flash of emerald light, laughing as he looped around the Statue of Liberty before blasting off towards the main city with Stirling in close pursuit.

* * *

"Woo hoo!" Xander screamed as he shot down Fifth Avenue high above the street, his emerald glow lighting up the various buildings around him as he spiralled around in the air and pulled himself to a stop. "This is amazing." He grinned, noticing a few people staring up at him and waving he simply waved back, smiling as they smiled at him before continuing on their day.

"You don't patrol much anymore?" Stirling asked as he came up to hover beside Xander. "I mean, I know working with Atlantis takes up a lot of your time and all, but still..."

"Yeah, it's just... people accepting this all, I'd never get tired of this." Xander grinned, slowly lowering himself to street level. "They're actually happy to see us, not scared or running away or anything." Xander froze, looking in one of the shop windows. "You've got to be kidding me." He laughed before walking into the shop and smiling broadly. "Holiday destinations around the galaxy?"

"Yeah," Stirling smiled. "We've got a dozen or more humans on Dreaireegr prime, they love it there, something about Kamanza, our capitol. It's the crystal buildings, we even caught a few people trying to bring back crystal tech through the Stargate."

"You're kidding me," Xander frowned. "What happened?"

"We sent the tech back; the people responsible got a five year ban from 'Gate travel." Stirling explained. "We're just here to promote the peace, not enforce it. You said that remember."

"Yeah," Xander nodded. Memorizing that quote for later use, it wasn't really stealing the quote if he took it from himself in the future anyway. "So people do this, you know, go for holidays around the galaxy?"

"Oh yeah," Stirling nodded. "Hold on," He frowned. "Green Lantern nine, reporting in." He announced, holding his ring up before it started to display a young woman that Xander didn't recognise.

"Green Lantern nine, we are receiving reports of a bank robbery in progress on Twenty-Ninth avenue, orders are to apprehend and assist local enforcement." The holograph from the ring reported before dissipating back into the ether.

"Understood," Stirling nodded as he looked at his ring. "Ring, what is your current charge?"

"Ring charge at one hundred percent and stable," The ring reported, drawing a confused look from Stirling.

"Ring, check again." He muttered before turning to Xander. "I haven't been down to the central battery in days, been too busy with Buffy and Kara."

"Ring charge at one hundred percent, current full charge being held by relative distance from Ion." The ring reported.

"Huh," Stirling frowned, an expression that looked completely wrong on his lizardlike features. "You do that, charge the rings just by being around them?"

"Guess so," Xander nodded. "Shall we?" He smiled as he walked out of the shop, waving at the shop owner as he went. "You take the lead, first time in New York." Xander smiled, missing the confused look on Stirling's face before he took off and shot down the street.

* * *

"This is Green Lantern, put down your weapons and exit the building." Stirling shouted, using his ring to amplify his voice to it could be heard inside the bank.

"Glad you're here guys," One of the police officers smiled as he approached the two. "We weren't counting on it, but things sure as hell go a lot smoother when you guys are around."

"How's it looking?" Xander asked, feeling a bit out of place in this strange new world that he had somehow helped to build.

"Three guys, armed with semi automatics. They entered about an hour ago; we haven't heard anything since then." The policeman explained. "We were trying to open communications when we got the report that you guys were coming."

"Uh, ok," Xander smiled over, a bit unsure as to what to do next.

"Three primitive ballistic weapons?" Stirling asked, waiting for the policeman to decode what he had said before nodding slowly. "Fine, we'll be right back."

Xander was a bit taken aback by this as he watched Stirling simply walk towards the bank, his green shield flickering up and surrounding his body as he walked. "Uh, shouldn't we have a plan or something?" He asked, jogging forward to catch up with him.

"Why? These guys always surrender when you walk in, it's not like they can actually hurt us or anything." Stirling frowned. "Unless you want to take lead, I mean, it's your city."

"Uh, no, sure, go ahead," Xander said after a moment, a bit confused as to why he thought New York was his city.

"I mean seriously," Stirling muttered as he walked over, using a construct to rip the doors off the hinges. "Why do people try this anymore?" He frowned as he saw the three robbers over in the corner, each now pointing their guns at him. "I mean, don't you guys know who we are?"

"Uh hi," Xander grinned as he walked in behind Stirling.

"Open fire!" One of them men shouted, pulling back on the trigger of his weapon and unleashing a barrage of bullets towards the two Green Lanterns.

Stirling simply stood there and let the bullets bounce harmlessly off his shield, while Xander cringed for an instant before bringing up a large wall construct between the two. "Jesus," He muttered as the firing stopped. "Bullets bounce remember, we don't want any injuries here."

"There are none," Stirling explained. "If there were, the emergency services would take care of them once we left."

"That's not how we operate," Xander said firmly. "This may be new to me, but we don't let innocent people get hurt simply because it makes our job easier." He waved his hand, dissipating the wall before whipping out with three tendrils of green energy that ripped the guns out of the bank robbers' hands. "No casualties, that's how we operate. We're here to protect people, not let them get injured because of us."

"Sorry," Stirling frowned. "I guess... I mean, I'm not used to operating down here, I've only been transferred here recently, I normally operate out towards the P49 sector. We don't have ballistic weapons there; Zat'ni'katel's and staff weapons, maybe another type of energy weapon from time to time. No one else out there uses projectile weapons and energy weapons just get absorbed by our shields."

"When we get back, get someone to help you adjust then," Xander frowned as he sent out rope constructs to wrap around the robbers, rending them effectively harmless as they fell to the floor. "Giles should help, or Faith, hell I don't know, but get someone to help before you get someone down here killed."

"Understood," Stirling nodded sharply as Xander lifted the three robbers up on glowing green platforms and marched towards the main bank doors. "Look, I'm sorry alright, I just didn't think."

"We have to," Xander commented as he floated the robbers down in front of the police officers. "If we don't, then people die."

"Like the Goa'uld," Stirling shot back before taking off, leaving Xander to look after him.

"Wait up," Xander shouted, dissipating the bonds holding the robbers before taking off after Stirling. "What did you say? What happened to the Goa'uld?"

"Before or after you slaughtered them?" Stirling shot back. "You know what happened, you were there. You hunted them down, basically massacred them all. Made the galaxy a safer place, it's all in the history books."

"I did that?" Xander asked, hanging in the air in shock. "I couldn't... no, I wouldn't... what..." He paused in disbelief, watching as Stirling simply shot off into the atmosphere.

* * *

"Giles, what the hell happened?" Xander shouted as he walked into the control room in Oa. "What did I do?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand Xander," Giles said, walking down from the desk he was working on and across to Xander. "What exactly are you asking me to tell you?"

"For one, what happened to the Goa'uld, and why people seem to think I basically slaughtered them all." Xander spat out, dying to find out the explanation for this. "What gives Giles, what happened back there?"

"I... I think we should talk Xander," Giles frowned, nodding over to one of the technicians before walking towards the balcony. "Come on, I'll explain what I can."

"You'll explain everything G-man," Xander ground out as he walked after Giles, taking off from the balcony after Giles. "What happened, I mean, with the Goa'uld, what did I do?" He asked, flying alongside Giles as they shot over the lake.

"You slaughtered them," Giles said softly. "Declared war and then systematically took their hierarchy apart piece by piece. The system lords didn't stand a chance."

Xander just froze, hanging in mid air as he took in what Giles had just told him. "What... I... I..." Xander couldn't believe what he was hearing, basically being told that he was destined to be a mass murderer in the future, even if it was war, the Goa'uld were still alive, not something to be systematically destroyed like that.

"Though, we have discussed this in length before," Giles nodded as he hovered around in front of Xander, the yellow glow coming from Giles seemingly more comforting that when it had been coming from Ethan a few short days ago. "It wasn't your fault Xander; you have come to accept that."

"What, was I possessed or something?" Xander half joked, watching Giles closely for a reaction. "I was?" Xander asked, his jaw dropping as he received confirmation from Giles.

"It's... difficult to explain," Giles frowned, polishing his glasses. "It's not something that can be changed, but again, that is something that we have talked about at length before."

"Well we can talk about it again," Xander said firmly. "What was it, a vampire, some sort of demon, something I can fix?"

"Nothing like that," Giles shook his head softly. "Your own demons so to speak, you have told me about this conversation before, the one we are having right now. And you deliberately told me not to reveal what happened, it is something you will have to face on your own."

"And become a killer?" Xander asked, his voice full of spite. He just couldn't understand how he could become something like that, something so dark.

"You did what you had to," Giles said firmly, taking Xander by the shoulders. "Something you will understand shortly."

"Somehow I doubt that," Xander snorted, staring directly into Giles eyes. "I have enough nightmares in my life."

"You have no idea," Giles said softly as he released Xander and floated away from him. "We should go; I believe Baulder is trying some new equipment to integrate Ancient, Asgard and Kryptonian technology together."

"Wait, Kryptonian?" Xander frowned. "As in Superman... Clark," Xander frowned as he put it all together. "I'm working alongside Superman?"

"You keep calling him that," Giles chuckled slightly as he took off towards Oa slowly. "Though only you, Faith and Jenny seem to know what it means."

"I'll have to explain it sometime," Xander laughed. "Seriously though, Clark Kent, kryptonian. Can fly, heat vision, strongest man on earth?"

"Sounds like the Clark we had here," Giles nodded. "And his cousin Kara, they've both been a great help while you and Faith were in Atlantis."

"Whoa," Xander grinned. This knowledge was certainly worth all the headaches that time travel was causing, knowing that he was working alongside Superman, the Superman, the legend himself. "That's just... I can't explain how cool that is." Xander laughed as his grin threatened to split his head wide open.

"That's what you said the first time," Giles laughed.

"This is the first time for me," Xander smiled as they both came in to land on a balcony. "Jesus, Superman, Batman..." Xander laughed again as he thought back to the young man that had greeted them when he first arrived. "The Flash?"

"Bart?" Giles laughed. "You and Faith call him that, Clark seems to have nicknamed him Impulse."

Xander just laughed at that, drawing strange looks from the people around him. "Uh, Baulder right?" He asked, eying the small Asgard that was walking towards him.

"Indeed," The diminutive grey alien bowed his head slightly, his voice the same toneless gravelly voice that Thor had. "I wished to work on the main link today, though with Mr Kent not available, I need yours or Mister Giles pass codes to access the mainframe."

"Use mine," Giles said with a smile. "The sooner we can integrate the kryptonian technology into the database, the sooner we can try and find a cure to your cloning problem."

"Indeed," Baulder nodded. "The kryptonian database could hold invaluable knowledge to our cause."

"Wait, you're a Green Lantern?" Xander asked, finally spotting the green ring on the small alien's finger.

"Indeed," Baulder intoned.

Xander waited for a moment for Baulder to continue and then shrugged when he just stood there staring at him. "All right then," He quipped. "Do we have many alien members then?" He asked, turning to Giles.

"Some," Giles nodded as he followed Baulder down out of the main room and into a corridor. "Asgard, like Baulder joined up under the recommendation of Jack, while Sterling and the other Furling member, joined up when the Furling home planet rematerialized."

"Whoa," Xander paused in the corridor, looking into the room ahead where Baulder had opened the door. "Is that..."

"The central core," Giles nodded, smiling as Xander looked in awe at the giant green core that flooded up from the center of the room.

"It's amazing," Xander muttered, walking into the room and walking across to the catwalk that crossed over the entire room. "How far down does this thing go?" He asked, staring down and seeing if he could see the bottom of the giant column of contained swirling green energy.

"To the bottom," Giles explained. "You built it with Thor's assistance, a combination of your energy replenished with zero point energy in a self renewing state."

"You've got to write this down for me," Xander quipped as he held his hand out and felt the similar energy contained within the core single across his skin. "There's no way I'm going to figure that out when I get back there."

"You will," Giles chuckled as he typed in a few codes on the main access panel for Baulder. "Go ahead; you should have full access now."

"My thanks," Baulder commented. "I will leave a full report on your desk once I have finished my calculations."

"Thank you," Giles nodded as he walked out of the room. "You coming?" He asked, smiling over at Xander.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Xander nodded, barely able to take his eyes away from the swirling emerald energy that was contained in the center of the room. "You know, it kinda looks..."

"Like a warp core," Giles finished off as he closed the door behind them. "You've told me, on many occasions." Giles laughed as Xander looked a bit petulant for a moment before grinning.

"You know, this future thing isn't half bad," Xander laughed as they made their way through the corridors, he smiled and nodded at every human and alien wearing a Green Lantern uniform as they passed in the hallway.


	32. Chapter 32

Xander frowned as he walked the corridors, the drab greys, blues and browns of the decoration seemingly at odds with the vibrant colours of the Green Lanterns he kept seeing patrolling the area or working on something or other.

He'd already switched back to his casual clothes, now just dressed in a pair of combat pants and a t-shirt with a loose open shirt over the top he was feeling a lot more comfortable. People seemed to either look at him in awe when he was in his uniform or immediately either stand to attention or quickly freeze when they saw him. Any of the reactions he'd seen so far were definitely not what he wanted while trying to relax, so he'd decided to wander around for a bit incognito so to speak.

It was night now, so the city seemed a bit quieter. The main command room he'd already walked through seemed pretty deserted, only a few technicians seemed to be around, pottering through various computer systems and working on various screens.

'So far the future wasn't turning out all that bad.' Xander thought to himself as he slumped against some railings on a catwalk that overshadowed the main room where the Stargate was housed. For the life in him he couldn't figure out exactly what Oma had sent him here for though. This future world seemed to be doing alright for itself, admittedly it still had its share of problems, but it was a far cry from the earth he had left a day or so ago.

"Peaceful isn't it?"

Xander smiled as he looked around to see Sam coming towards him, her usual combats and black t-shirt gone now and replaced with a full blue dress uniform. "Hey, nice to see a face I recognise here." He nodded as she smiled back at him.

"There are a few of us still around," Sam smiled as she leaned over the barrier next to him. "The old gang." She nodded at the fancy technology of the Stargate that was housed here, a far cry from the old one they used at the SGC back in his day. "Though truth be told, there isn't much for us to do anymore, with the Corps and..."

"The Goa'uld gone," Xander finished off darkly. "I... I just don't understand."

"Mister Giles told me," Sam frowned as she turned to look at Xander. "We've had our own fair share of adventures with time travel over the years. It's just a change that it isn't one of us in the hot seat this time."

"It's weird," Xander said, trying to put his thoughts into words. "Seeing all this, hearing about all the things I've... we've done. The good and the bad. Half of the people here look at me like I'm..."

"A legend?" Sam continued for him after a few moments pause. "It's to be expected, With the system lords gone, the Jaffa were finally free. The planets subjugated by the Goa'uld started finally talking to each other and creating alliances. After Jack left the SGC, this place, well, we use it all more for tourism now than any real military objectives."

"See, now that's just weird," Xander paused, looking down at the Stargate. "Yesterday, this was all top secret; the world was quite happy getting along without aliens or any of the rest. Now, it's just so different."

"It took a while," Sam explained. "I won't lie to you, there were more than a few bumps along the way. It's still a work in progress, but with the help of the Asgard and others like the Tollan, we've made some great strides."

"But at what cost?" Xander asked, deep in thought about what could have caused him to go off the rails like that and slaughter the Goa'uld. They were the aliens hell-bent on the enslavement of earth, and responsible for countless millions of deaths, but there was still a part of him that said that murder, or in this case genocide, still wasn't right, regardless of what the Goa'uld did to deserve it. "What happened, to me I mean, Giles said I was possessed or something."

"I wasn't there," Sam said softly. "I can only tell you what happened afterwards, but as far as I know, the first reports came in from Teal'c."

"Teal'c?" Xander smiled, thinking of how the large Jaffa and his father seemed so close back home. "He's still around?"

"Sure," Sam nodded with a smile. "He's normally down in the temple at this time, or in the cafeteria."

"The temple?" Xander asked with wide eyes. "I know this place is big, but is there anything it doesn't have?"

"Bottom floor of this building," Sam smiled as she gave him directions. "He got out of the infirmary a few days ago, so he's probably doing some light training knowing him."

"Sounds like T," Xander grinned as he pushed himself off the railing and moved to one of the balconies to the side of the room behind him. "So, who was the lucky guy?" He asked, nodding to the simple gold band on her wedding finger.

Sam just laughed and ran her hand through her now long blonde hair. "You'd never believe me." She laughed as he smiled back at her. "Go on, there's no one around."

"I'll see you around," Xander smiled as he hopped up onto the railings and sat there for a moment. "Not Giles right?" He smiled wider as she laughed at him before closing the doors. Xander just shook his head for a moment before pushing himself off the railings and slipping into a freefall down the side of the building for a moment before correcting his descent with a blazing green glow.

* * *

"Teal'c?" Xander shouted as he started walking through the corridors of the lower city, it was different down here, there was less of a military feeling and a more relaxed feeling flowing through the city, a peaceful feeling. There were large candles held up by stone statues that lit the way, along with the various lights that were dimmed in their usual places. "T? You around?" He shouted again, slowly making his way down the main hallway to where he could see two large doors at the end.

"A temple," Xander mumbled, trying to think this all through in his mind. The complexity of what had been built here still astounded him, it seemed there was a place for everyone here, warrior, military, scientist, they were all working here quite happily along with the Corps he had built somehow along the way.

"Teal'c?" Xander shouted again, coming up to the doors he could hear some sort of fighting going on inside, the noises sounded familiar but for the life in him he couldn't actually figure out where he knew the sounds from. "Teal'c?" He shouted one last time before pushing open the doors and striding inside.

The sight that greeted him stopped him dead, the emerald energy that had been crackling along his arms and fists quickly died away as the shock of what he was seeing flooded into him and he finally pieced together the noises he had heard with the weapons that the two warriors in the temple were sparring with.

"Xander Harris," Teal'c slipped back from the sparring session and bowed towards his opponent before bowing towards Xander deeply. "I was not aware you had returned."

"Uh, yeah," Xander said weakly, trying to find his footing in this new strange setting. "Uh, Teal'c... Um... You're sparring?"

"Indeed," Teal'c intoned with a small smile. "As I often do with Master Windu." Teal'c bowed his head slightly at his opponent; a slightly smaller coloured man came forward and bowed deeply towards Xander.

"Master Ion," Master Windu smiled as he bowed. "It is a pleasure to see you again."

"Uh, you know you're sparring with light sabres right?" Xander asked, a bit in shock to see the two purple blades clashing in the middle of a temple.

"Why would I be sparring with anything else?" Teal'c asked, the question seemed to hang in the air for a moment, the absurdity of Xander's statement seemingly at odds with the past that had already been written for him.

"Sorry, yeah, right," Xander shook his head as both Teal'c and Master Windu deactivated their light sabres as they moved to their water bottles which were stored on one of the many benches in the temple.

"You are still looking for what you seek," Master Windu intoned before he took a large gulp from his water bottle. "But you have already found the answers you were looking for."

"Are you alright Alexander Harris?" Teal'c asked, looking over at Xander with his patented stare as he quenches his thirst.

"Uh, no, not really," Xander frowned as he walked over to where Teal'c and Master Windu were wiping the sweat off of themselves now. "This is going to sound strange..."

"You are not the Xander we know," Master Windu said with a smile. "I had already come to this conclusion." His revelation caused Teal'c to raise his eyebrow by nearly a clear inch as Xander looked even more surprised.

"Yeah," Xander shrugged as he flopped down next to where Teal'c was stood. "Different time, same place." He smiled as Teal'c looked at him for an explanation. "I'm not your Xander, or not yet anyway, not for about another ten years by my reckoning."

"Yet you will be one day," Master Windu smiled down at him. "What you see here, all around you, is the will of the force, one you will one day see for yourself."

"So, I can't change this? All that I've seen, been told. It will all come true no matter what I do?" Xander asked, staring up at the Jedi Master for some wisdom. "And how the hell am I here talking to a Jedi Master anyway, you're from a movie, how the hell were you two fighting with light sabres, did Sam make them for you or something?"

"What will be will be," Master Windu smiled down at Xander. "The future is what it is, if you try and change it, is there any guarantee that it will be any better than the one you face now?" Master Windu bowed before moving to leave the two. "As I said, you have already found your answers; you must now just learn to find the questions to match the answers you already have."

"And what questions are those?" Xander asked as he stood up to say goodbye to the Jedi Master.

"No one can answer that question for you." Master Windu said with a smile as he bowed to Teal'c and then to Xander. "Be at peace Alexander, the future will work out, and you will save many lives."

"But..." Xander started to argue before he was fixed with a glare from Master Windu.

"You will save many lives," Master Windu reiterated before continuing. "But the journey you must make is your own path. You are not the savoir of Alderaan, not yet, but I know you will be, I see that already."

"Alderaan?" Xander asked, his mind rushing to fill in all the knowledge he could from that name. By the time he had looked back to the Jedi Master, he found himself alone in the temple with Teal'c. "Alderaan?" He asked, staring at Teal'c for an explanation.

"A fearsome battle," Teal'c nodded slowly. "An honourable victory, you and Buffy Summers saved an entire world from destruction."

"Teal'c, come on," Xander frowned as he stared at the light sabre that was now clipped on to Teal'c's belt. "Light sabres I can accept, I mean Sam could have probably cooked them up for you or something. Master Windu, maybe a Jaffa master or something, I don't know. But Alderaan? Me and Buffy saved Alderaan from the Death Star? That's out of a movie Teal'c, it didn't happen."

"I was there," Teal'c intoned. "The events unfolded just as predicted in the movies produced on this world. Master Windu believes that it was some sort of force prediction made to bring you to that dimension."

"Another dimension?" Xander frowned, as if he didn't already have enough dimensions upstairs to deal with, with all the people there from various dimensions, he supposed finding one where Jedi were real wasn't actually that much of a stretch. "You mean the Star Wars universe; it really exists out there somewhere?"

"Indeed," Teal'c nodded slowly. "A dimension that we have visited together."

"But..." Xander shook his head, trying to take all this in. "Teal'c, sorry man, this is just a bit too much. After hearing about everything and seeing all this, it's just all so big, so major. I'm just a normal guy trying to do what's best, there's no way I could have done all these things that people are telling me I did."

"They only speak the truth Alexander Harris," Teal'c bowed. "And while it is true, you are a man, you are also much more than that, as has already been told to you."

"You think I could do it all?" Xander smiled. "Again I mean?"

"If you did not do it, then we would not be here having this conversation." Teal'c explained simply. "The world is a better place; the galaxy is safer because of you and the Green Lantern Corps. These are things you helped accomplish. If you do not believe that these things are possible, then why are you fighting for them in the first place?"

Teal'c question hung in the air for a moment as Xander slowly took in what he had said. "You learn that from Master Windu?" Xander asked with a smile. "The Jedi wisdom bit?"

"No," Teal'c bowed slightly with a twinkle in his eye. "From you." He said with a ghost of a smile as he sat down next to Xander. "You have affected a great many people; those people touched others, and so on. You have done a great deal of good Alexander Harris. Do you believe those are the answers you seek?"

"No," Xander shook his head with a smile. "I think Master Windu was right, you both were. I needed to know if this was the right thing, building the Corps and all."

"And you have found the answers?" Teal'c asked, staring at Xander stoically.

"Yeah," Xander smiled back. "It's going to be tough isn't it?" He asked with a half smile.

"Nothing worthwhile is ever easy," Teal'c answered simply. "It is the journey that makes us who we are though."

"I guess," Xander nodded. "Thanks Teal'c," Xander smiled as Teal'c bowed his head slightly. "You want me to tell you all this, about the Jedi and the lightsaber, you know, when I get back?"

"I do not believe that would be wise," Teal'c said softly. "The future is written, but fluid. I would not wish to change events from the set path, even though I believe that they will happen as they once did."

"So, keep it to myself?" Xander quipped, this time travel thing was definitely starting to give him a headache. The past is the future, the future is today, it was all unwinding in his head as he tried to get his timeline straight again.

"I believe that would be the best course," Teal'c nodded. "It was nice to see you again Alexander Harris," Teal'c bowed slightly. "I will look forward to seeing you again soon."

"I'll see you first," Xander quipped. "Or before, whatever." Xander grinned as he focused on the name of the Ancient that had sent him here. "I'm ready to go Oma Desala." He said with a smile as he nodded to Teal'c slightly as a show of appreciation.

"Did you find what you were seeking?" Oma asked, causing Xander to look around and after a subtle white flash he once again found himself in the coffee shop.

"Yeah," Xander nodded, finding himself feeling a lot more assured than he had been when he had first sat here barely a day ago. "But you knew what I was looking for all along right?"

"If you immediately know the candlelight is fire, the meal was cooked a long time ago." Oma said with a soft smile.

"Uh, right," Xander frowned, that was worse than some of the Zen riddles that he and Willow had played with as a child. "And in English?" He quipped, looking at the woman for answers.

"Your home is waiting for you," Oma said with a smile as she nodded to the open door on the other side of the cafe, causing Xander to immediately flick his eyes over to it, and when they returned to where Oma had been, he found himself alone in the building.

"You know, that woman is really starting to bug me," Xander frowned as he got up, smirking slightly as he grabbed the 'Radus Coffee' mug from the table as he stood and made his way over to the doorway. "But I'm taking the mug." He grinned as he looked around the empty cafe. "Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to be the last time I see this place," Xander muttered, taking one last look at the coffee shop before walking out of the door.

* * *

"Whoa," Xander muttered as he looked around, he'd walked straight out of the door of the Ancient coffee house, but now he was on earth. It looked to be the right time from the things he could see around him. He was literally outside his front door, or Giles' front door where he was staying, the only thing that seemed out of place, freakishly so, was the fact that it was day time, but the area around him showed none of the signs of destruction that had marred Sunnydale the last time he had been here.

"Xander?" Giles asked in surprise as he walked down the steps into the courtyard in front of his house. "My god Xander, where have you been?" He asked, looking at Xander for a second before striding over and enveloping him in a hug.

"Whoa G-man!" Xander almost shouted, wrestling himself out of the hug. "Giles, what gives? I mean, I know I've been gone a day or so, but, well it's a long story, seriously long, about a decade or so I think." He grinned as Giles looked at him in puzzlement.

"Xander, no one has seen you for nearly a month," Giles said slowly. "Not since the battle with Ethan."

"Ethan?" Xander asked in confusion, looking down and noticing the yellow ring on Giles finger. "Giles, you'd better be joking right, the battle was only a few days ago..." He paused for a second, thinking about where he had been for the past day or so. "Oma," He muttered softly. "God damnit, she couldn't just put me back where I was supposed to be?"

"I'm sorry, what are you talking about?" Giles asked, growing concern now showing on his face.

"Like I said G-man, it's a long story, seriously." Xander muttered as he frowned, trying to put this all together in his head. "I seriously need to get it all straight first though," He paused for a second, thinking about what he had seen and been told in the future. "But I think you need to know Giles, all of it."

"Well then," Giles smiled softly as he pulled out his key to the front door. "Please, do not spare the details."

"Not yet," Xander frowned. "Like I said, it's confusing. Time travel and all that," Xander smiled as Giles looked at him in shock. "Yeah, seriously, like I'd make something like that up," Xander grinned wryly as he walked through the doorway and Giles closed it after him.

"I... I see," Giles stuttered as he started to clean his glasses. "Faith is in her room, I believe you should see her before you, well, do whatever you are planning on doing. She has been quite; upset shall we say, in your absence."

"Sure thing," Xander grinned as he started jogging up the stairs. "I've missed her too, god this is weird, seriously, no time at all has passed for me. It was yesterday that I saw you all, well, not yesterday for Faith and Buffy because they were off somewhere with my dad."

"I will put the coffee on," Giles frowned. "I can tell this will be a long talk."

"Later Giles," Xander smiled as he reached the top of the stairs. "Much later." He said softly before knocking gently on Faith's door and pushing his way inside.

* * *

The kiss was full of passion and fire, he'd barely made it in the door when he arms were around him at a speed he could barely catch with his eyes and her lips captured his as they both fell to the floor.

"Hey," Xander grinned up at her from where they'd fallen, a goofy grin on his face as she kissed him once more before pulling back.

"Hey yourself boy toy," Faith grinned back at him. "Where the hell you been, we've been going crazy looking for you."

"Around," Xander smirked as Faith mockingly glared at him. "Seriously, it's a long story, something straight out of Star Trek I'm sure. Giles is just putting some coffee on; I think we're going to need it."

"Alright," Faith said, smirking as she wriggled down against him, not one to ever leave a situation like this without getting at least a little something out of it. "But afterwards, I want a bit of time, just you and me." She sent him a sultry smile before grinding down on him once more and making sure he knew exactly what she meant.

"Gurgle flurp..." Xander blurted out, his brain unable to process the fact that Faith was now quite happily straddling him and her grinding was definitely causing the reaction she wanted.

"Later," She smirked down at him, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "And I'll make damn sure I make you scream more than 'gurgle flurp'." She grinned and with one last wriggle on his lap she jumped up off him and bounded downstairs with more energy than she had had in the past month.

"That woman..." Xander trailed off as he watched her jog down the stairs, a happy smile on his face as he stood back and looked around; it was home, home at last. "Buffy," He smiled, then with two consecutive emerald flashes he changed into his costume and teleported out of the bedroom.

* * *

"Slayer!" The vampire hissed as he faced off against Buffy, the three other vampires flanking him and moving off to surround her.

"That's what they say," Buffy quipped, twirling a stake in her hand as she stepped backwards so she could keep all of the vampires in view. "So, these books you ripped off?"

"I'm not telling you anything blood bag!" One of the other vampires snarled at her.

"Blood bag? That's original," Buffy said while rolling her eyes. "Come on, Giles needs those books, we can either do this the easy way..."

"Or the hard way," Xander finished the quote as he lent against a tomb stone behind the vampires, a green flash signalling his presence to the group.

"Xander!" Buffy breathed out in shock.

"The green death!" Two of the vampires exclaimed at once before taking off into the darkness.

"Leave them," Buffy shouted, "This one's the one we need." She said, pointing to the one that had called her a blood bag.

"Like that's an issue," Xander grinned, firing off two emerald blasts towards the retreating vampires and catching them both clean in the back where they screamed for a moment before turning to dust. "So, answer the questions." He said, turning back to the two remaining vampires.

"Wh... what questions?" The lead vampire stuttered out, finally catching on that he wasn't actually anywhere near the biggest fish in Sunnydale tonight.

"The books, where are they?" Buffy asked, stepping forward while holding her stake menacingly.

"Back at the warehouse," The second vampire answered without hesitation while the leader seemed to flounder for a minute. "We... we were keeping them for insurance."

"Insurance against what?" Xander asked, walking forward to stand next to Buffy. "And don't try and run, you saw what happened to the others."

"No way man," The second vampire blurted out. "I ain't that stupid."

"Good," Buffy said firmly. "Now, answer his question."

"The... The Mayor," The leader vampire answered, causing both Buffy and Xander to turn their attention back to him. "He wants them... don't know what he's planning, but it's big. He's the one you want to stay away from."

"The Mayor," Xander asked with raised eyebrows. "As in The Mayor of Sunnydale, or is this some sort of freaky nickname thing for another demon?"

"Mayor Wilkins," The vampire reiterated. "He's been planning this, like forever. We just wanna survive, get the hell out."

"Out of Sunnydale?" Buffy asked, a bit surprised that they were getting this much information out of the two vampires.

"Hell yeah!" Both vampires responded at once. "This place is going to hell, literally girl. We're on the fast track out of here; I recommend you do the same."

Xander just turned to Buffy, the confusion evident on his face as he tried to piece together what he had just been told against everything he had seen in the future. "You two are sure about this?" He asked, turning back to the vampires.

"Definitely man," Both vampires nodded. "That's all we know, I swear!"

"Good," Xander nodded, satisfied that they had learnt everything they could from the two, he raised his hand for a brief second before emerald flamed licked around the two vampires momentarily before immolating them both. "The Mayor?" He asked, turning back to Buffy.

"Where the hell have you been?" Buffy asked, ignoring his question as she moved forward and pulled him into a tight hug. "We've been worried about you."

"It's a long story," Xander grinned as he returned the hug before pulling back. "I came to find you so I didn't have to go through it all more than once, Faith and Giles are back at home waiting."

"Let's go then," Buffy said, impatient to find out exactly where Xander had been and what he had been doing all this time.

"What about these books?" Xander asked, reminding Buffy of the reason why she had been out here in the first place. "Giles needs them?" He prompted her.

"Giles and Wesley," Buffy explained. "We heard some demon wanted top dollar for them, but when we tried to buy them; vamps had already gotten to him."

"They're important then?" Xander asked. "'Cause explanations can wait until after if this is gonna be as big as I think, I mean, going up against The Mayor, do we need to form a party or something to stop him getting re-elected or something?" He joked, lightning the mood for a moment.

"Wesley seems to think so," Buffy smiled at him. "About the books, not the party thing." She shook her head in amusement before turning back to Xander. "We knew the vamps were hiding the books somewhere, but we've just been picking them off one by one, or three by three. We couldn't hit their hideout yet."

"Why not?" Xander asked, a bit confused as to why she hadn't just gone in with Faith and cleaned out the entire warehouse using their rings.

"It's suicide?" Buffy said in a 'duh' tone. "There's a couple of dozen vampires in there, not to mention seven or eight demons, that we know of. We couldn't just torch the building in case we destroyed the books."

"So use the rings," Xander answered in the same 'duh' tone. "Thirty or so vampires can't keep up with one Green Lantern ring, let alone two being used by Slayers. It's a milk run, not as if you're trying to stop an asteroid or something."

"The rings haven't worked Xander," Buffy said quietly. "Not since you left. We were out with Jack and Sam, somewhere in space when you vanished. The rings haven't worked since you left us there."

"I didn't leave you," Xander said firmly. "I got sent somewhere."

"Sent where?" Buffy asked, now seriously growing impatient for answers.

"Later," Xander shook his head slowly. "I promise, I didn't leave you. I'd never leave you Buff, you're my hero." He grinned as he watched the shock of what he had said sink into her. "Come on, let's get those books and get back to Giles. The rings should work now; it must have been because I wasn't in the area to keep them charged."

"That's what Willow said," Buffy nodded, accepting his comments. "She said they needed a battery or something, but we didn't have one and you were nowhere to be found."

"I'll look into it," Xander said, frowning as he tried to figure out how to actually create a battery that they could use to keep the rings charged when he was away, he'd seen the giant Central Core that had been created in the future, but that sort of thing was far out of his capabilities for now. "Come on; let's get those books, thirty vamps, easy." He grinned as Buffy nodded at him, holding her ring in the palm of her hand.

"You should be wearing it," Xander said with a smile as he reached out and touched the ring with his gloved finger, smiling as he could feel the ring was fully charged. "It's back up to full power, same with Faith's I guess."

"Let's go then," Buffy said as she broke out into a full blown smile before slipping the ring onto her finger and flashing into her uniform.

"After you milady," Xander grinned, stepping aside for Buffy before watching her take off into the night, her emerald glow lighting up the deserted graveyard. He shook his head for a moment before taking off after her and streaking off into the night.


	33. Chapter 33

Xander paused high above the graveyard as he moved to follow Buffy out into the night, looking down he saw what had caught his attention away from following her. Below was a single grave, away from the others, bathed in soft moonlight away from the shelter of the trees that most of the graves were provided with. A small pile of pebbles were easily visible even from this height and without reading the marker he knew who the grave belonged to.

"Oz," he whispered out loud, lowering himself down to ground level he took a moment just to look at the grave in sorrow. "I'm sorry, I should..." He paused, not knowing what he should say or do, everything he could come up with seemed inconsequential compared to the fact that Oz had not only died, but he had actually missed the funeral. "It shouldn't have happened like this." He said softly, moving his gloved hand up to run his finger across the cold stone.

"It was nice," Buffy said from behind him softly, moving up behind him she put one hand on his shoulder and looked at him with sad eyes. "His funeral was last."

"Last?" Xander asked in puzzlement before his brain pieced it all together. "How many?" He asked quietly, not actually wanting to know the answer.

"Seventy four, including Oz." Buffy said, her voice so soft it was almost lost in the night breeze.

"Because Ethan came here," Xander said quietly but firmly. "Because of me."

"No," Buffy said firmly. "Xander, Ethan made his own choice, this wasn't your fault."

"I should have been here, should have stopped him." Xander frowned in anger before taking his glove off and placing his hand on the grave stone marking Oz's death. "No more, I'm through hiding. No one else dies because of me."

"Xander..." Buffy started to argue but stopped as Xander clenched his fist and a plume of emerald fire shot upwards from the gravestone before settling down to a bright green marker in the centre of the top of the gravestone.

"This is when it all changes," Xander whispered to the gravestone before turning back to Buffy. "We're through hiding in shadows, letting people die before we act. No more."

"Xander, we can't..."

"Can't we?" Xander frowned, pointing at the grave. "One death, seventy three more," He spread his arms out to indicate the graveyard. "How many could have been saved? A dozen, fifty? All of them?"

"I... I don't..."

"Not just here Buffy, think about it. I saw the future, that's where I was. Taken there by someone to show me what I needed to see." Xander explained. "The corps were there, hundreds of them. Patrolling planets and solar systems all over. I flew through New York with a Green Lantern and nobody batted an eyelid Buffy. This is when it starts, it's the right thing to do."

"The future?" Buffy asked, raising her eyebrow. "Are you sure you didn't just get knocked on the head or something?" She asked, almost in jest. "You're serious?" She asked when she saw the look in his eyes.

"No more Buffy, no more." He said before shooting upwards in a blaze of emerald light faster than Buffy's eyes could follow.

"Xander..." Buffy whispered out before taking off herself and heading back to Giles, he needed to know what had happened, what she knew Xander was thinking.

* * *

It wasn't rage or anger running through his body as he soared across the flat desert planes of Nevada, more willpower, pure will. The will not to let anyone else loose someone, no more deaths, not if he could help it, and he could. Bank robbers weren't an issue, car hijackers, bombers, terrorists. He could stop them all, he knew that. He just needed the will to do what needed to be done, and being faced with Oz's death had given him the push he needed to do it right.

Accelerating himself he arced back on himself, he knew where to start, the closest city there was to Sunnydale. He'd been so intent on starting as soon as possible that he'd actually taken off without a plan of where he was going to start or what he was going to do. But Los Angeles glimmered in the distance, the glow of the city lights making a soft golden glow in the night horizon.

"This is for you Oz." Xander whispered as he forced himself faster through the night towards the city in the distance.

* * *

"Giles," Buffy shouted as she opened the door and ran into the house. "Giles!"

"Yo B, what's up?" Faith asked as she came out of the kitchen. "See yours is back too, great isn't it?" She grinned, noting Buffy's costume and ring softly glowing on her finger.

"It's Xander, he's gone." Buffy exclaimed as Giles came down the stairs. "Seriously, I think he's going to do something stupid."

"X only got back half an hour or so ago B, where's he gone?" Faith asked, putting her glass of coke down on the side and flashing into her own costume in case Xander needed her help.

"I don't know." Buffy said softly. "It was too fast, I couldn't follow him. Giles, he's going to do something, I know it."

"Slow down Buffy," Giles said calmly as he walked over to the two girls. "Now, start from the beginning, what happened?"

"He found Oz's grave," Buffy said softly, explaining what had happened before Xander had taken off like that. "He asked how many others died when Ethan attacked. Giles, he blames himself for it all."

"Good lord, do you think he will attempt to bring Oz back?" Giles asked in shock, he thought he had convinced both Xander and Willow of the dangers of attempting something as dangerous as that.

"No," Buffy said simply. "Giles, he was talking like he's going to go public with it all, like he'd had enough of all the secrets."

"More power to him then," Faith said simply. "Make our jobs a lot easier if we ain't got to worry about shit like the police and all getting in our way."

"No, not more power to him Faith," Giles said disapprovingly. "Think about it, what would the mass population do if they found out there was a being with Xander's power amongst them?" He paused, letting the question sink in to both Buffy and Faith. "A man, with the power of a God. Who could stand up to him?"

"Ain't that the point?" Faith said simply. "Ain't no one going to mess with him, no one's that stupid."

"Exactly my point. How will the government react to a single man having more power than their entire army combined?" Giles said, polishing his glasses thoroughly as he tried to predict the outcome from this. "We have had enough trouble this month convincing Wesley that the sorcerer known as Ion has moved on, not to mention his suspicions about the both of you. Having the entire government breathing down our necks because of Xander is not something that would make our jobs any easier."

"Shit yo, he's right B. Xander goes public then so do we. Everyone's gonna make the connection between us, you know, green shit and all." Faith exclaimed.

"But what can we do? He could be anywhere by now, doing anything." Buffy said, trying to piece together how they could even find Xander, let alone talk him out of doing anything dangerous.

"I don't believe that will be an issue," Giles said, moving back from his antiquated television set as he tuned it in to a news channel.

"Shit," Faith said as she saw the image being broadcast.

"Shit indeed," Giles intoned as he stared at the screen in horror. There was Xander, clear as day, on live television, interfering with a hostage situation.

"Yo, turn it up." Faith said, staring at the screen as Giles twisted the volume dial.

"It is unknown who the young man is at this stage, nor how he is doing what appears to be magic. What is known is that he has entered the building by flight, under his own power, and now appears to be disarming the men responsible for... Hold on, something is happening..." The woman on the news paused as the camera panned around to the shopping centre to show Xander walking out of the broken glass doors, the crunching of glass underfoot was audible as everyone else in the scene was deadly silent.

"These are yours," Xander said confidently as he brought down the glowing green cage that was hovering behind him, containing the three men in balaclavas. Looking down he dropped the two pistols and one sub machine gun he had 'confiscated' from the men holding up the store. "I don't like guns." He said firmly before the weapons were incinerated in a bright emerald glow and reduced to molten slag.

"Wait a minute," The blonde detective who was in charge of the police presence there interrupted him as he moved to walk away from the scene. "Who the hell are you, and how did you do that?"

"The name's Ion." Xander said proudly. "And I'll be around." He said firmly before exploding upwards in a blast of green energy that lit up the area before the camera man panned back to the brunette news caster who had been first on the scene.

"You heard it here first folks. His name is Ion, but where does he come from, what does he want. Does Los Angeles have its very own Superhero now, or is this... I don't know, I can't even think how to describe it. All I can say is that he's cute and from what I saw, the criminals here have got another thing to worry ab..."

"I think that's enough," Giles said as he flicked the switch on the television, turning it off quickly. "I believe Xander has made our choice for all of us now."

"But..." Buffy said, trying to put into words what she was feeling about what had happened. She'd just watched Xander save people, that was good, she knew he had done the right thing. But on the other hand, doing it so publicly would have far reaching consequences for them all.

"Aw hell," Faith spoke up. "Yo, he's gonna need our help down there. LA is a big place ya know, and the bad guys there ain't gonna like him muscling in like this."

"You think he's in danger?" Giles asked, a bit in disbelief.

"Hell no," Faith grinned. "X can take care of himself, it's the bad guys I'm worried about. Not to mention if they start a war against X, then lots of people gonna get hurt in the crossfire."

"She's right." Giles said after a moment of contemplation. "I take it both your rings are at full charge now?" He paused as both girls nodded at him. "Go, see what you can do to calm him down. Try to stay out of the camera if possible, but try and bring him back without any further incident."

"Ain't no way we're going to be able to force him to come back if he doesn't want to." Faith spoke up. "If we do, he'll just take the charge right out of the rings or something."

"Indeed," Giles said solemnly as he walked over to the kitchen and retrieved the small box from one of the draws there. "Which is why I will be accompanying you." He paused, taking the small yellow object out of the box and slipping onto his finger before pulling his long coat on. "Come on, we must try and bring Xander home before he does anything too public that cannot be ignored by the media."

"Think we're already past that," Faith smirked as she opened the front door and walked out into the night air.

"I hope you're wrong, I really do." Giles said as he followed Buffy out of the house and closed the door behind them.

"Are you going to be alright using that?" Buffy asked, raising her eyebrow at the golden ring now perched on Giles middle finger.

"I believe so," Giles said honestly. "I have practiced with it regularly now for the past three weeks, I believe I am now able to use the ring without it affecting me as greatly as it first did."

"Well, you go Darth Giles again or some shit, we're gonna have to take you down as well." Faith grinned as she hovered upwards slowly into the night.

"Again," Buffy smirked as she moved upwards to follow Faith.

"You two will never let me live that down, will you?" Giles asked as the area lit up in a soft golden glow as he moved himself up to join the two, his long coat blowing in the night wind.

"Nope," Came the answer from the two slayers as they shot off into the night towards Los Angeles, a golden blur following them through the darkness.

* * *

The tears ran freely down Willow's eyes as she ran out into the night, she'd seen the news broadcast while studying, finals were only a few weeks away now and she was intent on getting the best grades she could. Though she had been distracted by the green glow that had appeared on her television and turned it up so she could actually hear it properly.

He was back, Xander was back from wherever it was he had gone. And he hadn't even come to see her, no, he hadn't fixed anything, not Oz, not anything. And now he was off flashing his powers in front of complete strangers when he couldn't even do the right thing.

She'd grabbed her rucksack from the bed and just run off into the night, not wanting to be in her room or around anything that would remind her of Oz and how Xander had refused to do the right thing.

She ran through the night, seeing no one on the street corners. Silence was her only companion as her sobs filled the night. "Why?" She screamed out as she stopped in a park, throwing her bag down she looked at the spare stake that had spilled out of the open bad, the stake she had always carried for Buffy in case she needed it, the comic she had been reading in school before Xander had disappeared. She stared at the comics cover and in a frustrated move ran over and kicked it away into the bushes where it skidded across the dirt.

"Who won't you bring him back?" She screamed into the night, knowing in her heart that someone was listening to her, that Xander was listening. Hoping that he would do the right thing and fix it all, put it all right for her. "Do it, fix this, fix everything!" She screamed before collapsing in a heap.

She didn't notice the young girl she had seen in school a few times before standing on the edge of the park in the shadows, she didn't notice the smirk on the girls features as her face morphed into a visage ten times scarier than any vampire could have hoped to be.

"Why, why couldn't you just do the right thing?" She sobbed out. "I wish..." She paused, wiping the tears from her eyes and dragging her hand down her face. "I wish you'd dressed as someone that would put it all right." She sobbed out before collapsing her head into her hands as the tears came freely now.

The demon known as Anyanka stared down at the open comic book and the title emblazoned across the page. "Wish granted." She grinned as the wording began to glow an eerie green. "Zero Hour indeed." She laughed sinisterly before she shimmered out of existence.

* * *

Xander frowned as he flew through the air way above Los Angeles, he'd stopped two robberies now and helped in a police car chase. All in all he'd been feeling very good about himself, acting out in the open and saving people's lives, using his powers for the first time as he actually felt they should be used.

"What the..." He whispered out as he felt something ripple around him. Before he had chance to actually see if he could locate the sensation he screamed, it felt like his body was being torn apart. He screamed so loudly as he fell through the air, his concentration broken. The emerald shield protecting him and helping him fly was shattered as he plummeted down towards the asphalt beneath, then everything went black and the universe was changed forever.


End file.
